


Be His Knight

by Fan-NB-Kikia (Leigheaux_kun)



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate View Point Character, Cats are Dogs in This is Lion is Wolf, Coming of Age, Connie is a Pearl, Crushes, Everyone Is Loyal To Homeworld, Fade to Black, Fear of Death, Friends to Enemies, Friends to Lovers, Gem/Human Hybrids (Steven Universe), Implied Sexual Content, Intrigue, Lies, Master/Servant, Mention of Bisexual Connie, Mistaken Identity, Multi, Rose's Rebellion is Put Down, Secrets, Steven Lies A Lot, Steven Universe is Pink Diamond, humans are Considered Gems
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2020-03-17 06:58:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 47,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18960208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leigheaux_kun/pseuds/Fan-NB-Kikia
Summary: Pearl, Facet MHS-WRN, Cut CN-NI, has just been given her first assignment, her only assignment. Pearl is being given to the Pink Stars of the Lustrous Pink Diamond.





	1. Perfect Pearl

**Author's Note:**

> Please be aware this story is a WIP and the tags and rating may change as more chapters are added. Updates are on random Saturdays.

The alarm went off with its usual sound, a sort of chirping noise, native to a different colony, that was so pleasant to wake up to it had been added a common sound on alarm clocks. Pearl had been using it for a months now and hadn’t gotten sick of it yet. She woke easily, having been half awake already and reached over to the corner of the bed where the clock was and tapped the alarm off. She hadn’t really needed the nap, but she’d wanted to sleep one last time in her own bed, on her own planet.

This afternoon, as soon as Pearl’s mother came home from work, she’d be leaving her home, a colony planet called Centruri, and taking what would probably be a one way trip New Homeworld. Pearl sat up, and pushed her hair back from her temples. She’d hoped the nap would steady her, but she still felt nauseous.

A month ago, she had gotten orders to begin packing and prepare to take up assignment on New Homeworld. It had come as complete shock. Assignments didn’t go out until after school was over when gems turned nineteen. Pearl would be eighteen for another three months. She’d gone to assignment office, assuming it was mistake, but the Hessonite there had told her she was to be ready to leave when scheduled. Today was that day. There was no more putting it off.

She had left her classes unfinished. She had been assigned new uniforms and a new harness for her gem. Pearl had been nervous, getting fitted for the new harness. Her old one had been a swooping necklace and belt combination that looped around the back of her neck, crossed her chest to hold her gem, then twisted around her waist for an elegant finish. Her new one was light waistcoat that slipped over her shirts. She now had dozens and dozen of them too, one for every occasion, even some tunics for sleeping and lounging. Normally only upper crust gems had a wardrobe full of harnesses, but now she had one too. Pearl’s mom was so proud, but Pearl thought it only made her stand out more.

With a sigh, she put her alarm back in her gem, carefully pulled on her clothes, and stood in front of her mirror. Pearl had brushed her fluffy black hair before her nap and it still shone like polished onyx. Her new uniform, a short tunic and fitted leggings, wear neatly pressed and hug off her body as if they’d been made as one form. Over her tunic her gem-harness hung her all-important gem over her chest. She touched her gem, a nervous habit, and pressed her back teeth together. She needed to perfect, the perfect organic-pearl. She stood out too much. She was always so close to being off-color.

Pearls were supposed to be pale as moonlight, delicate, graceful and soft. Their gems should be milky with a blush of color. They were supposed to be sweet as fruit, and helpful. Silent until spoken to, but always saying just the right thing when they spoke. Pearls were the perfect companions. They were just what every gem needed.

Pearl’s gem was a brutish, dark brown-red. She’d been mistaken for a Garnet in the light, and an Onyx in the dark. All her uniforms, like all gems, matched her gem. She wore dark reds, black, dark greys, and browns. When she went to her dance classes with they other pearls, she always stood out. Even with a few black pearls; they dressed in muted greys.

Her parents weren’t pearls. Pearl’s mother was a proud Rose Quartz, one of highest designations an organic-gem could have. Her father was a ruby, maybe not the highest-ranking gem ever born but good enough at his job to have his request to be matched with a Rose Quartz be accepted. When Pearl was growing up, people used to congratulate her mother on giving birth to a garnet. Pearl remembered that was her mother would square her shoulders, lift her chin and look the other gem in the eye.

“She’s a pearl,” Rose Quartz would correct them.

And every time, their face would change from happiness to pity.

On top of all that, Pearl couldn’t even act properly. She tried to be silent and graceful, but she was put in training classes for science and combat. She was only pearl in her classes, and always risked either ridicule for not acting like a pearl and doing well, or acting like a pearl and failing her classes.

Every year her mother requested more dancing classes, more music classes, more etiquette classes. Every year her requests were denied, and Pearl was put into combat training and strategy classes. Pearl couldn’t dance, sing, or play instruments as well as a pearl should be able to, but she could always floor an agate with a staff and help a peridot fix an engine. It was as if someone wanted her to stand out.

“Connie?! Are you ready?! It’s time!”

Pearl took a deep breath and whirled away from the mirror. She marched toward the door with her hard-won grace, without sparing a look around her bedroom. She had been saying goodbye to the room she grew up in for a month. There was no point in one last look.

Downstairs Rose Quartz stood by the door, tapping her foot and checking her watch.

“Connie?! There you are! Did you send everything ahead? Your clothes? Your bedding? Do you have your extra gem harnesses?”

Pearl laughed. “I’ve got everything, Mom. I sent the last of it this morning, after I got up.”

“Good. We don’t want to be late.”

Rose ushered Pearl out the door and into the car. Pearl tried not to look at the neighborhood as she climbed into the passenger’s seat and buckled up. All around them were identical, pretty houses with big Pink Diamond emblems hanging on the front doors. This was Pink Diamond’s colony; Pearl had grown up here, but likely she would never see it again.

“How was the hospital, Mom?” Pearl asked.

Rose quartzes weren’t common soldiers, but medical personnel to natural- and organic-gems alike. They were specially designed by Pink Diamond herself, during the acquisition of New Homeworld. Pearl had hoped, as a young girl, to have her designation changed to rose quartz.

“Ugh!” Rose huffed. “A nightmare! Wounded came in from the new colony. The organics there are putting up a fight instead of just assimilating like civilized gem-kind. Then there was the Kindergarten Ward. We had four mothers going into labor all at once. An amethyst, a peridot, a hessonite, and an agate! Of course, the agate was being the biggest baby about it. Well it was her first baby. We might have to call in more sapphires from Homeworld to help the designations.”

“Have there been any pearls?” Pearl asked softly.

Rose gripped and the steering wheel and sighed. “No, Stardust. We don’t normally get pearls here.”

“Of course,” Pearl muttered.

There was a short silence in the car. Fine grey houses with pink emblems rolled past outside. After a few seconds, Rose Quartz spoke.

“Connie, Stardust. When I was assigned to have my first child, I was thrilled. I hoped you’d be an agate, or even an emerald. The sapphires would fuss and fuss over you saying they saw something like a star gas being heating inside me. I was so excited.”

“And then you found out I was a pearl,” Pearl muttered.

“It’s not that simple,” Rose said. “On your designation day they kept putting off calling it. I didn’t know why. I thought … I thought there was going to be problems when I gave birth. I was so afraid. Then this sapphire arrived.” Rose’s voice dropped into a whisper. She gripped the steering wheel tightly, smiling to herself. “She didn’t looked special, at first but she told the others to get out, and they did. She even sat on my bed. I was in total shock.

“Who was she?” Pearl asked, frowning. “Did Homeworld send her? Why have I never heard this before?”

“Oh, it’s all a big secret. Strictly classified. I’m not sure I should be telling you now.”

“Then why are you?”

“Because I’m your mother, Pearl.” Rose Quartz sighed. “Now, Sapphire showed me her missions briefing and her status. You’re not going to believe where she was sent from.”

“Sapphires are send from Homeworld.”

“Not this one. She was a member of the Pink Stars.”

“The … Pink Stars?”

Pearl stared out the windshield, her mind blank. The Pink Stars were an elite group of gems in Pink Diamond’s court. They single-handedly defeated the Rebellion of New Homeworld, when a rouge Rose Quartz and her Renegade Pearl lead an army against Pink Diamond. The Pink Stars answered to only the Diamonds themselves and were known through the galaxy.

“A member of the Pink Stars came to designate me?” Pearl whispered.

“Yes. That sapphire was Pink Diamond’s own personal sapphire. And she came to designate you. Do you know why?”

Pearl blinked. Normally she was far cleverer than any pearl had right to be, but all this was throwing her for a loop, so she said, “No.”

“Well, isn't it obvious?” Rose said with a smile. She was almost giddy. “Two years before you were born, there was a huge upheaval as the end of Era 2 was ushered in and we celebrated the beginning of Era 3. You must know what that means!”

Frowning, Pearl went through her history. Era 1 began with the rise of the Diamond Court. White, Yellow, Blue, and Pink Diamond ruled Homeworld and expanded their rule across the universe. Era 2 began with Rebellion of New Homeworld, then called the Earth. Pink Diamond was briefly captured by the Rebellion Leader Rose Quartz and her Renegade Pearl, only to be freed by the organics of New Homeworld, then called humans. Grateful for their help, Pink Diamond assimilated humans into the first organic-gems and made the Earth into the capital of her new organic-based empire. Era 3 began when Pink Diamond announced she’d be taking another step to join natural and organic gems and changing her form. Pink Diamond hadn’t been seen in public since. Rumors had it that she’d had a child, like an organic and given her rule to the child. But that was impossible. 

“I … don’t think I do,” Pearl admitted.

“Well, I think I do,” Rose said with a grin. “We’ll see if I’m right when we get your travel assignment.”

“What is my assignment?” Pearl muttered. “Who do you think I’m going to belong to?”

It had been the first great shock of Pearl’s life to get her assignment.Not only was it early, she wasn’t even being given to a Sapphire or an Emerald in one of the many colonies nearby, as she expected. Because of the limitations of the organic mind, organic-gems weren't typically sent far from their birthplace. But she was being sent to New Homeworld. She would likely live and die in another star system.

The question was, what was on New Homeworld for her? The seat of power for Pink Diamond had enough natural-pearls to last eons.

“Shh,” Rose said, still smiling. “We’ll know as soon as we get to the launch bay,” Rose breathed out slowly, as if steading herself, but she was still grinning from ear to ear.

Pearl pressed her back teeth together and stared straight ahead. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t decide why.

#

At the launch bay, Pearl walked with her mother to the directory. She got a few looks from people around her, but since Rose never visibly minded her presence, the attention didn’t last. With a hospital containing a Kindergarten Wing so nearby, people probably assumed Pearl was Rose’s daughter, even if Pearl was almost an adult. At the directory they found their ship and from there headed to the terminal.

The terminal for their ship was mostly empty, with just a few peridots milling around, eyes glued to their display screens. As they waited for the peridot behind the desk to locate their ship and pilot, Pearl’s eyes wandered. This terminal, exclusively used for higher class gems, was comfortably decorated and filled with art. Most prominent of all was the mural.

It went from ceiling to floor and was wider than several people were tall. It was made of shining pink glass, illumined from the back. Pink Diamond stood in angular glory, one foot resting on the cracked remains of a war helmet, reaching up to the heavens. In one of her hands was a small planet with a single moon, carved with a pink star on it. There were several other planets in an arc around her short, spiked hair. She wore a pair of simple cuffed pants and a short-sleeved top - almost like what a quartz soldier would wear - that had a huge version of the same star on it. Her gem, made of carved glass, sat proudly at her navel.

“What do you mean, you can’t find our nephrite?!”

Pearl whirled around. Rose was leaning over the counter, glaring daggers at the poor terrified peridot on the other side.

“I … I’m sorry. I can’t find her. The ship is docked but … she’s not answering!”

“Not answering?!” Rose growled. “Get that nephrite here, now! We have a meeting on New Homeworld with the Pink Stars and stars help me if we’re late because of this—"

“Now, now!” another voice called from the door. An emerald came waltzing into the terminal smiling widely. She had short blonde hair and a tiara-like harness for her gem that held it over her forehead. Her lips were painted the same shade of green as her gem and her eyes were a deep sparkling blue.

Rose straightened up; Pearl crossed her wrists and interlaced her fingers.

“There’s no need to shatter that poor peridot,” The emerald continued. "She’s just the messenger.” She laughed, running a gloved hand through his short blonde curls. “Did you say you were going to New Homeworld?”

“That’s right,” Rose said. “We chartered a ship,” she glared at the peridot, “but our pilot seems to be missing.”

“Not a problem,” Emerald said. “You can ride with me. I’m on my way to that star system.”

“We don’t want to trouble you,” Rose said, but she was smiling again.

“It’s not trouble! Emerald,” she held her hand out, “Facet WH-T, cut FR-ST. Forest, for short.”

“Rose Quartz, Facet MHS-WRN, Cut PRY-NK. Call me Priyanka. And this is my lovely daughter, Pearl.”

“Facet MHS-WRN, Cut CN-NI,” Pearl said. “Connie.”

“I’ve heard of you,” Emerald said. “You’re the pearl the Pink Stars are interested in.”

Pearl blushed. “I … yes! I’m very honored.”

“You should be,” Emerald said. “Well, we shouldn’t keep them waiting. Come on. We’re bound for New Homeworld.”


	2. Blue Green Planet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl arrives on New Homeworld.

Pink Diamond’s seat of power was different than her colonies or even Homeworld itself. A ship simply couldn’t land on the planet and request an audience with the Pink Stars or Pink Diamond herself. Only so many visitors to New Homeworld were allowed at one time, and even then, only under strict rules with the proper documentation. They had to stop and orbit the Moon Base while Rose Quartz explained why she and Pearl were showing up in an unauthorized ship.

But that was none of Pearl’s business, and she was sure that her mom could handle it. She slipped out of the bridge as quietly as she could then ran full speed down the halls of Emerald’s ship to the Look Out to get her first real glimpse of her new home.

New Homeworld had Emerald’s color scheme, green and blue, with a pale white moon to compliment it. It was a small planet, cozy one could say, where at least Pearl wouldn’t have to wear limb-enhancers to keep her mass in check. It explained why organic-gems were sent out to certain sized planets in the first place. They were sent out to places that matched their own Homeworld. Pearl pressed herself against the glass. She couldn’t wait to get down there.

#

They were allowed down to the planet’s surface after an hour. Emerald docked her ship and set about refueling for the next leg of her journey while Rose set her tracker with the coordinates of the Pink Stars base.

“Amazing they don’t let ships dock on the base,” Emerald said as idly watched the screen on her ship.

“Pink Diamond likes to preserve as much of New Homeworld as possible,” Rose said, checking her tracker. “She didn’t even put in roads from the ship docks to the bases.”

“Hence the trackers,” Emerald muttered. Her eyes turned on Pearl as she sighed. “I so wish I could go with you, little Pearl.”

“O-oh?” Pearl said with a force pleasant smile.

“I wanted to see If I could catch a glimpse of Pink Diamond again,” Emerald whined.

Pearl gasped. “You… you’ve seen Pink Diamond?!”

“Really?” Rose said. “When? Where?”

“It was years ago,” Emerald admitted. “Before Era 3. She was amazing. Beautiful and sparkling. She had an organic-gem by her side, an ametrine, I think. And all three of the Pink Stars were there! She had a guard of organic- and natural-gems. And musicians, and dancers, and jugglers! It was breathtaking. And she sang while the ametrine played the guitar. Then she welcomed us to New Homeworld!”

Pearl found herself leaning in, eyes wide, back teeth pressed together to keep her mouth from hanging open. She’d never heard of a Diamond acting like that before. It sounded so magical.

“I was hoping,” Emerald went on, more dejectedly, “to see her, or talk to one of the Pink Stars and find out why she’s has gone away. Where she is. What she’s doing. I just …”

“She’s our Diamond,” Rose said solemnly. “It’s only natural for us to be lost without her. But!” Rose straightened up. “She’s calling for an organic-pearl. A member … well, all I can say is my daughter’s designation as a pearl and her assignment here was no accident. I think Pink Diamond is ready to come back to us.”

Emerald gave a small, hopefully smile. “I hope so. What are gems without their Diamond?”

#

Pearl’s first breath of air on New Homeworld was an assault of odors. Wet soil, damp air, rotting leaves, furry animals, and far off the smell of salt pressing on them heavily, the air was almost alive with scent, a far cry from the clean neutral air of a colony town. Pearl pressed her lips together to stifle a little cough. Emerald gagged openly.

“Stars!” she said. “I forgot how pungent the air here is! There’s nowhere like New Homeworld.”

Rose Quartz coughed a bit as well. “There’s air filters on base,” she said. “We should get going.”

“I’m going to head out as soon as I’m fueled up,” Emerald said, her face still twisted in semi-disgust. “But I’m in this sector pretty often, so I’ll be checking in on you, Little Pearl. Make us proud.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Pearl said.

Emerald kissed her on the head, then retreated inside her ship.

Rose Quartz gently touched Pearl’s shoulder and nodded towards to the woods. “Let’s go,” she said. We’ve got some walking to do.”

#

The wilderness of New Homeworld was nothing like the parks on Centruri. While Rose lead them through the dense flora, Pearl kept generally in her wake, exploring. She walked in a wide looping zigzag behind Rose, stopping every so often take pictures or look up with species of plant or animal she was looking at. It wasn’t long though before Pearl spotted something she recognized.

Off to the side she saw a small bush blooming with the same blush colored flowers that adorned every hospital, ambulance, and medical center: roses.

“Mom!” Pearl whisper-shouted. “Mom, roses!” Pearl trotted up to the bush and crouched down next to it. She’d seen rose bushes back home on Centruri. They were the symbol of the medical community for obvious reasons, and popular in gardens and parks as rose quartzes were the gem-type specially made by Pink Diamond.

Pearl reached out and touched the petals of the lower roses. The smile faded from her face as she noticed the ground under the bush. She moved the branches aside to find a strange print in the dirt. It didn’t look like a gem footprint and of the animal prints she knew it was unfamiliar to her.

“Mom. Look at this.” Pearl turned around and shouted. “Mom!”

Silence answered her.

“Mom?!”

Frowning, Pearl took a picture of the print then got up and trotted back to where she last saw her mom.

“Mom?!”

Pearl walked forwards a few yards, then stopped and walked backwards a few yards. After a few seconds of standing still, she took a deep breath, pressed her back teeth together and breathed out slowly through her nose. After centering herself, Pearl looking back at her camera. Since she didn’t know the way forward, the simplest answer was to find her way back. She could use her pictures to retrace her steps and go back to Emerald’s ship’s. Then she could call either her mom or the Pink Stars base and have someone come and collect her.

#

It was a difficult walk, having to retrace her meandering trailing backwards through the woods. She wished several times that she had simply followed her mom without running all over the place. But the sun as out and the animals were chittering in the trees. It was a nice day for a walk, even if it took twice as long to get back to where she started. However, she did finally make it and the trees opened into a clearing where Emerald’s ship was docked. A sigh of relief began to form in Pearl’s chest, but before she could breathe out, the engines on Emerald’s ship came to life and lifted it off the ground.

A squeak left Pearl’s mouth as her jaw dropped. Emerald’s ship hovered for a moment, wobbling in midair, probably running through last minute diagnostics. The realization that she was losing precious second hit Pearl and she screamed.

“No! Emerald! Emerald!” Running forward, Pearl started waving her arms above her head frantically. “Emerald wait! Down here! Don’t leave!”

But her cries were drowned out by the roaring of the ship. The stabilizers tucked in; the ship rose higher despite Pearl’s yelling, and in the blink of light, it was gone.

“Oh no!” Pearl huffed and collapsed on the ground. “Hell,” she cursed. “Hell, hell, hell.” Pearl sighed heavily and rubbed the back of her neck while she thought.

The safest place was probably right where she was. And maybe the docking station had some way of contacting the base. Naturally the peridots might need to contact the base while doing repairs. But it was getting late, getting dark. Pearl looked around. Sure, enough there was some terminals off to the side stood under some overhangs behind a screen. It didn’t look overly secure, but it would do for the night.

Getting up, Pearl walked over to the terminal and began examining the door. She waved herself at door, hoping it would just open, but it did no such thing. It probably needed a access pass from a peridot or nephrite. Pearl was just about to think about how she could bypass the door security system and explain that away in the morning when she heard a growling in the trees behind the terminal.

Pearl froze and listened. The growling continued and seemed to get closer. With slow movements, Pearl edged to side of the terminal and peeked around the side. She could see nothing but tree behind the terminal, but the growling was getting louder. Putting on a burst of speed, she turned and quietly ran across the front of the terminal so she could peek around the other side. There she saw nothing but trees as well. Forgetting about getting in trouble, Pearl went back to the door and searched through her gem for something to open it.

She found a mini override device from her technical class, which she grabbed, but fumbled in her hand out of fear and dropped. The growling was getting louder, and her hands were shaking. Pearl snatched the override device up from the ground, turned it on and began work on the door.

“Come on,” she whispered. “Come on! Hell!”

The lock deactivated and the door slid open.

“Stars, yes!” Pearl screamed, at the same time something jumped on the top of the terminal.

Pearl looked up. The creature was more negative space than solid mass, but it was big and growling. Pearl had a choice and not a lot of time to make it. She glanced at the terminal to see it buckling under the weight of the creature. With that knowledge Pearl dropped the override device, ducked around side of the terminal and ran into the woods.

She ducked behind bushes, turned when she was behind trees, climbed when she could, anything to make herself harder to follow. She was putting distance between herself and creature, but it was still pursuing her. Finally, Pearl found herself up against a rock wall, set into which was a slim opening, more of crack in the rocks than a cave entrance, but it was better than nothing. She ran up to it and pushed her way inside.

Inside the cave was surprisingly more spacious than the opening implied. Pearl moved farther inside and behind another rock away just in time to avoid the creature catching up to her and trying to push its paw into the opening. Pearl sat down and sighed.

#

The light in the cave faded into darkness and Pearl closed her eyes and fell asleep. She woke before the light came back. The creature was still growling and scratching at the cave opening. Pearl felt herself slump further against the cave wall and closed her eyes. The daylight crept back into the cave, filtering through Pearl’s lids and urging her to movement. She opened her eyes and got up.

The cave was even lighter than it should have been with the light coming from the cave entrance. Pearl started to wander towards the back of the cave to find the source of the light, but the creature roared and clawed at the entranced again, reclaiming her attention.

“Hell,” Pearl muttered and turned toward the creature. “Hell!”

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that she was stuck here. What the point of her training? What was point of her standing out and being so strange and off color if she was going to be trapped and helpless at the first sign of trouble. Was it that in the end she was just a pearl after all? Wasn’t she supposed to be a Pink Star now? It wasn’t fair!

Pearl clenched her teeth together and shut her eyes. She wasn’t going to cry or scream. She wasn’t going to shatter. She didn’t want to be helpless!

Her gem reached out for her; its energy wrapped around her, fed off her emotions, gave her comfort and reassurance. Pearl felt it in her bones, in her tears, in the scream she was holding back. Then there was something in her gem, something just at her fingertips. She reached for it, hand open, stretching with all her might. It was just out of her reach, but she strained, a few tears slipping past her shut eyelids as she reached.

“Please,” she muttered. “Please!”

Her fingers slipped around the item and she pulled it out of her gem. It was different than other items she’d pulled out of gem. Pearl knew right away; it wasn’t organic. It was a natural gem object. She looked at it. It was sword. Pearl had a sword.

She breathed out slowly. The creature seemed to sense something was happening. It roared furious and started clawing at the rock at the entrance, pulling bits of stone away from it. Pearl frowned, sick of the creature having the upper hand. She strode forward, took a stance just outside the reach of the reach, slashed it across its forearm. The creature roared and withdrew its arm. Pearl didn’t let up. She slipped through the crack quickly – it was wider than it had been the night before, but still a tight fit – sword arm first, slashing before her second set of limbs were even free. The creature growled but had no choice but to back up.

When Pearl was free of the rock, she crouched and pointed her sword at the creature. Now things were even, and Pearl was done running. She frowned and looked down the blade of her of her new sword.

Just as Pearl breathed out, ready to attack, something grabbed the creature from behind. Pearl was just able to see what it was, a purple, studded whip. It yanked the best back, top over bottom. Behind it, holding the whip was an little amethyst. She was in long pant with a double shirt that hung off her shoulder in a fashionable way. She looked almost off color, yet she handled her whip with deadly precision, and a devil-may-care smirk.

“Go, guys,” Amethyst shouted.”

From behind her two more gems came charging forward. One was a pearl, glittering in shades of pink, strips of blue and touches of yellow. Pearl held a spear in one hand, took a running jump and launched the spear at the creature with deadly accuracy and breathtaking grace.

Lastly was a gem Connie could recognize right away. She was incredible; big like a normal sized quart soldier. And she was extremely strong; she picked up the beast and threw it vertically above her head. Her weapon was amazing, two massive gauntlets, with which she punch the creature as it fell towards her head. She looked very cool as the creature’s form gave way into smoke and fell like mist on her.

She had curly hair around her head like a ruby, but much bigger and fluffier as if the hair had some other influence. Her face was covered with a visor. She was a busty gem, like many in Pink’s court, and had a narrow waist with wide motherly hips, like Pink Diamond herself, and rose quartzes. There was somehow more to her than she appeared, and Pearl couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

The mystery gem opened her hand, and a single gem dropped into it.

“Alright, Stars,” the mystery gem said. Her voice was husky and soothing. “Good work.”

“Garnet look!” the group’s Pearl said. “There she is! She’s fine! Oh, and she has a sword!”

“Hey, Lil’ P!” Amethyst shouted. “Nice sword you got there!”

“Pearl CN-NI,” The strange gem said walking up to Pearl. “We’ve been looking for you. I’m Garnet. This is Pink Pearl and Amethyst. We’re the Pink Stars.”


	3. The New Pearl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl adjusts to life with the Pink Stars.

Saying goodbye to her mother was the hardest thing Pearl ever had to do. Pearl had thought saying goodbye to her father the day she left her colony was bad. He’d had to go on assignment that morning and had left her before Rose had come to bring her to ship. It had hurt, but something about being at home had made it feel almost normal. Now being on a strange planet and saying goodbye to her mother was so much harder.

“I love you, mom,” Pearl said.

“I love you, too, Stardust,” Rose said. “You’re going to do great. My daughter, a Pink Star! I can’t believe it!” Rose squeezed Pearl hard enough to hurt, before letting go. “Make me proud, Stardust.”

“I will, Mom.” Pearl was crying.

“We’ll take good care of her,” Pink Pearl said, putting a hand on Pearl’s shoulder. “She’s in good hands.”

“I know,” Rose said. “I know.”

Soon Rose was gone, and Pink Pearl took Pearl to her room.

“Take the day to rest,” Pink Pearl said softly. “Go it medical building and see the rose quartzs. Eat. Maybe go into town. Here on New Homeworld we have organic food you can’t get in the colonies. And sleep! Make sure you sleep! And stretch. Summon a gem weapon for the first time will taken so much out of you. Take a shower. A long hot shower. Maybe bring a chair in there. Maybe we should start your training a day later.”

“Pearl,” Garnet’s voice said from the door. She surprised both of them. “Relax. Little Pearl will be fine. She’s tough.”

“Yea, P.” Amethyst added. “You’re smothering her.” Amethyst shoved her way around Garnet’s hip and approached Pearl. She threw an arm around her waist and gave a lazy smile. “Lil P, you’re going to do great. You just need a few hours to recharge. Don’t worry. We’ll start your training when you’re ready.”

Pearl smiled a little. “I’m … really going to fight alongside you?”

“Uh, yea!” Amethyst said. “You’re handpicked by Pink D herself! We’ve been waiting ages for you to grow up and get here!”

“Amethyst!” Pink Pearl snapped. “Pearl—”

“You can call by my identification, if you want, Ma’am…” Pearl offered sheepishly.

Pink Pearl stared at her, before lips together, tears in her eyes. “Oh, Connie.”

“Stars,” Garnet said. “We need to have missions. Pearl. You have to debrief with Pink Diamond. Amethyst, you have to set up Connie’s training. Meanwhile, I’ll be recording records for today.”

“What’s my mission?” Pearl asked.

“Your mission is most important, Connie,” Garnet said in a serious tone. “Your mission, is to prepare, physically and mentally for training by resting.”

Pearl blinked, wondering if she was being made fun of. Then Garnet smiled.

“Our mission is to train you, Connie. You are our mission. So everything we do is about making you ready to be a Pink Star. Rest up, okay?”

Pearl nodded. “Okay!”

* * *

It took several days for Pearl to deemed well enough to start her training. Pink Pearl took her to a place called the Sky Arena, where her training would begin.

“Here we are, Connie,” Pink Pearl said. “This is where you will learn the concepts of not just fighting, but knighthood.”

“Knighthood?”

“To be someone’s knight is to be their shield and sword, to a be living manifestation of their will to act. To stand by their side in times of peace and stand between them and danger in times of war. That is what it is to be a Pink Star.”

“I understand!”

“Good! Now, we begin.”

The training with Pink Pearl was harder than her classes. Her classes had prepared her for the moves and basic principles of Pink Pearl’s training but not the intensity. Pink Pearl was a relentless teacher, expecting Pearl to memorize techniques and steps almost immediately. But Pearl constantly surprised herself, just squeaking by Pink Pearl’s expectations. She learned stances, terms, cuts, blocks, and counters. She sweated and worked. She read history and tactics. Mostly importantly she earned Pearl Points. Pearl Points could be exchanged for treats, new uniforms, new harasses, specialty training with useless but fun weapons, and most precious of all, hours off.

However she did not, could not, draw her gem weapon again.

The work was the hard, but Pearl was happier than she’d ever been. Her class back home had prepared her for this work, and now she was free to pursue it fully without the strange looks or the disapproving glares. She wasn’t off-color here.

There didn’t seem to be off colors in Pink Diamond’s court.

Amethyst was too short. Pearl hadn’t asked about it, although she had complained about being too short to perform a maneuver in from of Amethyst which had been invitation enough for Amethyst to say something. Apparently she’d been incubated during the Rebellion of New Homeworld, but had stayed in the ground too long and been found by Pink Diamond by accident much later. Amethyst was shorter than Pearl, and demonstrated the maneuver; she added a little jumping flair to pull it off.

Then there was Garnet and Pink Pearl. Garnet was leader of the Pink Stars in the absence of Pink Diamond and she was fusion. And Pink Pearl was a fighter despite being a pearl in the first place. It was an open secret among the upper class of Pink’s Court, apparently. Pink Diamond, after being freed from the Rebellious Rose Quartz’s captivity by pre-gem humans was weak and without any gems. She and her growing band of humans wandered, looking for Diamond-loyal gems, and came across some rebels picking off what was left of Pink Diamond’s court. All the gems had been poofed except Pink Diamond’s Pearl, one of her sapphire’s and the sapphire’s ruby guard. They were cornered but refused to give up. They vowed to fight for Pink Diamond. The pearl gained a spear and the ruby and sapphire fused into Garnet, and together they fought back the rebels. Pink Diamond was impressed she made them her royal guard, the beginning of the Pink Stars, and the reason fusions and unusual fighters were allowed in Pink’s Court.

Garnet, Pearl learned, would unfuse for missions, such as going to Centruri so Sapphire could designate Pearl all those years ago.

It was good to be among people who understood her, but it was hard not to be able to match up them. Pearl couldn’t summon her gem weapon a second time. She was just barely passing her training. She was doubting herself in everything. She felt lost.

To attempt to catch up, Pearl used her days off to train. She headed out into the woods near the Pink Star’s base and went to through motions of her training. She was halfway through a movement before she tossed down her sword and sighed.

“Hey, keep going. That was good.”

Pearl turned to find someone watching her from the shadows of the woods. It was an organic-gem, but Pearl couldn’t see where his gem was because of the pink cloak covering his body and most of his face. He was taller than her with deep black curly hair peeking out from under his hood and bronzed skin. The cloak hood covered half his face and the flaps buttoned at the shoulders. The cloak fell to his knees where he wore blue pants and terrible open-toed shoes.

“Who are you?” Pearl asked, ignoring the gem’s shoes for the moment.

“I’m Rose Quartz.”

“Rose Quartz!” Pearl felt relief  and surprise wash over her. “I didn’t know any men were designated as Rose Quartz.”

“Oh!” the rose quartz shifted and laughed. “Well I’m sort of different. I get that a lot though.”

“You do? Different how?” Connie stepped forward, eyes tracing over the pink cloak.

“It’s complicated,” the rose quartz mumbled sheepishly.

“Oh…” Pearl smiled. “Don’t I know it,” she said almost to herself.

“And you are?”

“I’m Pearl. Facet MHS-WRN, Cut CN-NI. Connie.”

“Can I call you Connie?”

“Sure. What’s your identification?”

“Facet UN-VRS, Cut ST-VN. You can call me Steven.”

“Steven,” Pearl repeated. “Hi, Steven.

“Hi, Connie. So, What’s wrong? You were doing so well before you stopped.”

“Oh… I don’t know.” Pearl picked up her sword and looked at it. “I just… I guess I’m home sick. I miss my Mom. She’s a rose quartz, too. My Dad’s a ruby. I’m here training with the Pink Stars and… I don’t know. I guess I just… thought I’d miss them less.”

“It’s okay to miss them,” Steven said. “I mean, they’re your parents. But you should use that.”

“Use it?” Pearl said.

Steven walked up to Pearl and smiled from behind his hood. “When you have to fight, remember everything you’re fighting for. Your friends and family, the people who are important to you, you’re fighting for all the gems you’re protecting, including your family. Let the love you feel for them guide you.”

“I… I don’t know,” Pearl said. “I feel like I can’t. I mean… I’m just a organic-pearl in the end, aren’t I?”

“You’re not just a pearl! Pearls are great! They’re strong and capable! There’s no such thing as just a pearl, Connie. And Organics are great too! I’m organic! My dad is organic! And my friends! We’re all great! We’re New Homeworld Organics!

Pearl smiled a little and shook her head. “I have an extra sword, if you want to practice with me.”

“Sure.”

Steven ended up being a capable fighter. He was well trained, able to block most of Pearl’s attacks, but Pearl was able to get in close several times. She even made him push his hood off, revealing his long hair, pulled into a ponytail. They circled one another, taking swipes at each other as Steven called out encouragement and advice. They kept on sparring until the sun began to go down.

“I have to go,” Steven said as Connie practiced a few swipes in the air.

“Me too. Pearl will start to miss me and worry. She’s a worrier, like my mom.”

Steven chuckled and nodded. “Then you’d better go. We’ll each other again soon, Connie.”

Pearl smiled and offered Steven her hand. “Thanks for the advice before, Steven. I think I’ll keep it in mind. I want to be useful to the Pink Stars and to Pink Diamond. They’re my family, too. So, I’m going to my best in my training.”

“You’re going to be an amazing Pink Star,” Steven said as he took her hand. “I’ll see you soon.” Steven let go and walked into the forest, as quiet and mysterious as he’d come, the only thing to set him apart from the woods was the pink of his cloak.

* * *

Pearl thought about Steven as she collected her things and started to walk back to the base. She’d never met a male rose quartz before. Because she was so interested in rose quartz she’d been officially asked if she’d like her future designation to be same-sex and she was even considering it because all of her crushes but one had been women. This would be the fourth rose quartz she’d gotten a crush on, if this continued. But this would be the first male. Pearl supposed this proved she wasn’t a lesbian, just really into pink gems. It wasn’t her fault that a lot of pink gems were women.

She got back to find Pink Pearl already beginning to look for her.

“Connie!” Pink Pearl exclaimed when she saw her. “Where were you? I was going to go find you.”

“I’m sorry. I was just training. I’m ready to continue with you.”

“Really?” Pink Pearl said with a smile. “I’m so glad to hear that! We’ll start tomorrow after you get some sleep. Then we’ll review what we’ve done so far and go from there.”

“Right. I’m heading to bed. And… Pearl?”

“Yes?”

Pearl shifted from foot to foot before speaking, turning over what Steven had told her. “I wanted to tell you how grateful I am for being invited into the Pink Stars, and how much I want to do well here.”

Pink Pearl smiled and closed the distance between them, hugging Pearl gently. “You’re doing great, Connie. Don’t worry.”


	4. Beach City Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven takes Pearl on a picnic.

Pearl swung her sword in an arc and turned on the spot, slashing through the air. She was in her favorite spot in the woods, in the clearing near the cave where she’d hidden from what she was calling the gem beast. For eight months she’d training with Pink Pearl to become a knight to Pink Diamond. She technically had the day off, but she was planning of using the day to train anyway.

“Connie!”

Turning, Pearl saw Steven making his way towards her through the woods. He had his usual pink, light pink, and white cloak on, and had a basket over his arm.

“Hey, Steven. What’s the basket?”

Steven grinned and held it up. “I packed a picnic! Do you want to have lunch?”

“Oh!” Connie shifted on the spot. “I was going to train today.”

“Well, you train every day. One day off won’t hurt.”

“I don’t know, Steven. Being part of the Pink Stars is a great honor, especially for a pearl like me and—”

“Connie,” Steven interrupted. “Hold the phone. Now, give the phone to me. Working hard is important. But feeling good is important, too! You should take a day off and have a picnic! Then get back work tomorrow.”

Pearl frowned as she thought about it.

“Well, overworked muscles wouldn’t be a good thing…” She smiled and nodded. “Okay,” Pearl said. “You convinced me. Let’s have a picnic!”

They walked through the woods, talking about Pearl’s training and their favorite book and movie series Kitty-copter, laughing and enjoying the day. The sun streamed down through the trees, filtering the forest with hues of green and yellow. Finally, they came to a huge cliff overlooking the entire area.

The Pink Stars base was laid out across the land below them. The training field, the forge, and the library were all visible. Beyond the base was the unused gem temple, erected as refuge by the rebel Rose Quartz during the rebellion and preserved by Pink Diamond after her return to power. Along the right the beach and ocean stretched out into the distance. Pearl felt her eyes water.

“When I learned I was going to be living on New Homeworld, I almost cried. I knew I would never see the colony I grew up on again.” She wiped the tears from her eyes. “But New Homeworld is so beautiful. I see why Pink Diamond chooses to live here.”

“It is beautiful,” Steven said. “I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve never wanted to be anywhere else.”

Steven paused. Pearl could see him out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to have more to say, but he didn’t speak. He just stared out over the landscape, frowning sadly. His hood was pushed back and a few strands of his black hair had escaped his ponytail and were swept into his face. He looked so handsome and so troubled.

“Steven? What’s wrong?”

“Hm? Oh, heh. It’s nothing.” He wiped a tear from his eye. “Just thinking.”

“I understand,” Pearl said, taking his hand. Steven’s hand was bigger than hers, warm, soft. He squeezed her hand back, not looking at her, but just holding her back.

They stood together, hand-in-hand, for a few moments before Steven took a breath and held up his basket.

“Lunch?” he said.

Steven spread out a blanket and began to unpack the lunch. There were hot dog sandwiches, fruit salad, biscuits and jars of jam. Steven explained each item as he took it out. Pearl grinned. She’d only recently had most of things he’d brought. Pearl had been right. The colonies had nothing on New Homeworld’s food. She was paying attention to the food instead of Steven and reached for the strawberry jam at the same time as him. Their hands overlapped again and Pearl paused and blushed.

“Sorry,” she said at same time as Steven. She pulled back as Steven took the jar and opened it up. He spread some jam on a biscuit and handed it to Pearl.

“Here,” Steven said.

“Thanks,” Pearl muttered, taking the biscuit.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, a comfortable silence. There was birdsong in the air. Off in the distance the sounds of quartz soldiers training in the bases wafted up. Even farther away the sound of the ocean waves washed over everything.

Pearl ate slowly, savoring the taste of the jam. Steven of humming between bites beside her. She closed her eyes and smelled the woods, moist and deep, the ocean sharp and salty, the food and the base, sweet, mouthwatering, metallic and clean. Pearl was warm and content in the sun. She was home.

“I wish I could stay here forever,” Pearl muttered, almost to herself.

“We could do this every day,” Steven said, “and it wouldn’t be enough.”

“Mhm!”

Pearl sighed, so grateful that Steven had come and whisked her away from her training. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

Steven was definitely handsome. He had deep brown eyes, sun tanned skin that was almost freckled, and the most peculiar hair. It was so curly his ponytail could barely contain it and deeply black. In his highlights where the light hit his hair, it shone reddish almost pink, like rose quartz. Pearl chuckled and looked off into the woods, to hide her blush. Steven was so gorgeous he was sometimes a little hard to look directly at if he wasn’t hiding behind his hood.

“What?” Steven asked.

“Nothing,” Pearl said, still smiling.

Steven laughed. “Connie, what?”

“Nothing!” Pearl sang. Then something in the woods caught her eye. Her smile faltered ever so slightly.

“Come on,” Steven sang back. “What’s going—”

“Shush!” Pearl said suddenly.

“W-what?”

“Hush, Steven! There’s something…” Pearl paused and hopped up into a crouch. “There’s something in the shadows.” She crept forward, standing in the process, edging towards the woods. Before she could get past the blanket a gem beast came crashing out of the woods.

It was twice Pearl’s height and just as wide, with four legs, two arms, no difference between its body and head to speak of and body sized mouth with rows of sharp teeth. On top of its round form was a single antenna. Pearl turned for the sword which was resting by the back side of the blanket where she had been sitting, but before she could reach it a white-hot light beam shot from over her shoulder and knocked it farther away. She turned back, but barely had time to dive out of way before beast warmed up its antenna again and shot at her.

“Connie!” Steven shouted.

Pearl looked at Steven, then looked at then gem beast. Her sword was laying by cliff edge, out of reach for the moment, but Steven didn’t have a weapon at all as far as she knew. She braced against the ground and made up her mind. She hadn’t been able to summon her gem weapon again since the first, over eight months ago, but she needed to protect Steven.

“Steven, run!” Pearl shouted as she darted for the beast, hoping her weapon would materialized in her moment of need.

She got close and prepared to strike, only to be hit by a beam. She shuddered in place, pain shooting through her jerking body, then collapsed, faintly hearing Steven calling her name.

It took Pearl a moment to shake off the shock of the hit and looked up to find herself in a pink bubble with Steven.

“Connie?! Connie are you okay?” Steven shouted. Outside the bubble the beast was shooting at them.

“Steven? How are you doing this?”

“Connie, we don’t have time. We have to run!”

Another shot hit the bubble and Pearl stood and shook her head clear. “There… there’s a cave. I was training by it. We can regroup there.”

“Can you run?”

Pearl crouched on all fours, looking towards the cave. “On three, dropped the bubble and follow me.”

“Okay!” Steven answered.

“One.” Pearl dug her feet and hands in the dirt. The thumping from the gem beast attacks was pounding in her ears. “Two.” She tensed all her muscles. “Three!” Pearl shot forward, trusting Steven to drop the bubble in time and follow her.

She ran full speed through the woods. The gem beast was roaring and stomping behind her, but Steven was in her side vision keeping up nicely. They reached the clearing and Pearl grabbed Steven with both hands and without stopping shoved him ahead of her.

Steven hit the rock wall with an audible thud, but Pearl ignored it and started shoving.

“Squeeze in, Steven! Squeeze!”

Pearl pushed and shoved until Steven let out a coughing sound and popped through the crack. Then Pearl wriggled in herself, but before she was cleanly inside she felt a light beam from the gem beast hit her on her back. She shuddered again and felt her legs give out, but Steven caught her and dragged her deeper into the cave.

They wedged themselves back into behind some ridges. The beast roared, chewed at the crack, and shot at them for a while, but the shot burned the walls next to them harmlessly and after a while the beast growled and backed off.

Pearl waited for the feeling to return to her legs before pushing off Steven’s chest and standing up. Evening standing, the space was tight enough that weren’t far apart.

“Thank you,” Pearl sighed, her hands still on Steven’s chest. She took a deep breath. “We’ll wait here for a while until we recharge a bit, then go back for my sword.” Frowning, Pearl dropped her hand to her sides. “Unless… have you got a weapon? And, how did you make that bubble? And where is your gem and harness?”

These were questions that Pearl should have asked months ago. She’d never seen Steven’s gem or harness. And even thought she’d been to the medical building she’d never seen Steven’s name on any of the rotation sheets. She should have been suspicious, but Steven had been so good to her during these last eight months, so encouraging, so sweet, that she’d never bothered.

Steven looked down for a while before shifting and opening his cloak. Under the cloak was a plain pink shirt which he lifted to a revealed a pink gem, not in a harness, but set directly into his body.

“Rose! You’re a natural gem?” Pearl said in disbelief.

“I’m an organic-natural gem hybrid.”

“A… what? I’ve never heard of such a thing before. That’s… that’s… Amazing! Do have a weapon!”

“Yea, a shield.”

“Oh, my stars! That’s amazing! A shield, a protective bubble. Anything else?”

“… Lots. I’m still learning though.”

“My stars! Do the Pink Stars know about this?”

Steven’s face fell. “You can’t tell them you know about me! It’s a secret! Top level clearance only, even the soldiers on the base don’t know anything. If they find out you know…”

“I might get in trouble,” Pearl muttered. “Or worse. You might get in trouble.” Pearl took both of Steven’s hands in her own. “I swear on my honor I won’t tell anyone about this. You have my word, Rose Quartz. I’ll protect you.”

Steven’s eyes watered up as he smiled. “Pearl…” he muttered.

Pearl smiled for a second, then looked over her shoulder. “I don’t hear anything,” she whispered.

“Me neither,” said Steven. “Let’s go. I’ll go out first with my shield, you make a run for your sword.

“Right.”

Steven edged out of the space first and crept up to the mouth of the cave. He peeked out of the crack and whispered back.

“It’s gone for now.”

“Okay,” Pearl said. “Let’s go.”

Steven nodded and squeezed out of the crack, after which Pearl followed. Outside the cave, Steven tensed and over his left arm materialized a pink shield with a flowered design on it. Pearl smiled in delight as she eyed the shield.

“I love it!” she squealed.

“Thanks,” Steven said, blushing. Then he straightened his face. “Okay, sword.”

“Right, sword.”

They marched off toward the cliff, moving fast, keeping quiet. The forest was still unnaturally quiet, no birdsong, no animals in the underbrush. Everything was hiding. The gem beast was still nearby.

Pearl wondered what it was. She’d never seen a gem animal before coming to earth but had since seen two. But she’d been too busy training to ask the Pink Stars what they were, where they came from, or why they were exclusive to New Homeworld. She also didn’t know what the Pink Stars had done with the last gem beast’s gem instead of shattering it, or where gem was now. Garnet had sort of caught it and done some slight of hand to disappear it from sight. Pearl frowned to herself as he realized how little she knew about New Homeworld and the Pink Stars. She wasn’t sure even why she’d been chosen to join them before she’d even been born.

As they approached the cliff, she glanced at Steven, a natural-organic hybrid, and living secret. He probably knew more than she did, but now wasn’t the time to ask.

The sword was up ahead, near the cliff edge. Steven fell behind her, keeping back towards the forest while Pearl went for her sword. She was almost at it when she heard a roar. Without thinking Pearl dove forward, but it was too late. A light beam hit the sword and knocked it over the edge of the cliff.

Swallowing a scream of frustration, Pearl whirled around and faced Steven and the gem beast. Steven was fighting the beast alone, blocking light beam shots with his shield and getting in hits while the beast was charging up between shots. Pearl clenched her fists and planted her feet. She was going to fight. Even if it was with her bare hands, she was going to fight. She touched her gem, for luck, for courage, then charged into the fight with a roar.

Her shout must have scared Steven, because he blocked a light beam, then turned and looked at. Pearl barreled past him and leapt into the air, bringing her right fist down on the gem beast’s head. Light wrapped around her fist, condensed, solidified, and created a sword which met the beast’s next light beam head on. There was a moment of tension where Pearl was held in midair, falling into the beast sword-first and getting knocked away with the same amount of force. Then the balance tipped and was blown back clean into the air head over heels.

“Connie!”

Steve’s voice came from all around her as she was spinning. Then her was by her side, clutching her around the waist, holding her to him.

“Steven!” Pearl grinned, then noticed the cliff edge passing them than an arm’s length away. She clutched Steven and bit back a scream.

“It’s okay!” Steven shouted. “I got us!”

The cliff rolled by, slower than it should.

“Gem power?” Pearl asked.

“Yep,” Steven said.

“Steven, you’re amazing!”

“Thanks. I like your sword.”

Pearl beamed and looked at her gem weapon. The sword was a standard cutlass with a board, slightly curved blade of solid deep red and a black hilt with a cupped guard. She felt its presence all the way down to her bones and knew that she would never struggle for it again.

“Connie! It’s coming!” Steven shouted.

Looking up, Pearl saw the gem beast running down the side of the cliff, shooting at them. She wriggled in Steven’s grip, brandishing her sword. Steven held her tighter.

“Connie! Wait until we reach the ground!”

“Can you speed us up?” Connie shouted, watching the beast come closer. “Then slow down right before we reach the ground!”

“Right!” Steven shouted, and they began dropped faster, faster even than natural. Then in a few seconds they suddenly stopped.

After a second of hovering, they touched solid ground again and Pearl jumped from Steven’s grip.

“Cover me!” she shouted as the gem beast came barreling towards the bottom of the cliff, then she charged forward.

This time she aimed for the underside of the beast, slashing from the left and right before rolling back to the right to allow Steven to block a shot from the beast’s antenna. She spun on the spot then came back around to slash again, this time right above the beast’s gem. It roared, lit up, then poofed into a cloud of smoke. Then the smoke cleared, a single gem was left behind.

Pearl frowned ad lifted the point of her sword over the gem only to have Steven shout.

“No!” He caught her arm. “It’s not her fault! You don’t have to destroy her.”

“What… what are those things…?”

“That’s… complicated. I’m sorry.”

Pearl sighed. “It’s fine. I understand.” She dissipated her sword and watched Steven place the gem in the bubble and send it away.

“I’d better going, Connie,” Steven muttered.

“Me too,” Pearl sighed. She spied her original sword by the cliff foot and wandered over to it. “That was way more training than I intended.”

Steven laughed. “New Homeworld can be more unpredictable than the colonies, I’m told.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small communicator. “Here. For you.”

Pearl took it with a smile and a blush. “I’ll see you soon, Steven.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this being a day late. I was working on other projects. Please expect a slight delay in chapters from here on out as I work on multiple things, but updates will still be on Saturdays. Make sure to Subscribe for updates.


	5. Cheeseburger Backpack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl receives a gift for her first mission

It was early morning in the Pink Stars base. Pearl considered herself lucky to have a room with a window. Not only that, she had a window seat where she could rest and think. Her window faced inwards toward the base and the pink tower that was Pink Diamond’s home. Pearl wondered if Steven was there now and what he was doing. Was he some experiment of Pink Diamond’s? Or her pet? Did she keep him like a pearl?

Pearl frowned. She doubted he was mistreated or kept as a curiosity. He wandered in and out too much and fought too well to be a prisoner or ornament.

So, what was he? She hadn’t seen him since they dispatched the gem monster, and that had been a week beforehand. They’d talked on the communicator, but it was impossible to tell where he was. Somewhere dark and secret. Maybe he was afraid of Pink Diamond finding out he was talking to her.

Reaching for her gem with her mind, Pearl poked at the communicator. Where was he? For that matter, what was made to do? Every gem had a purpose. What was the purpose of an organic rose quartz that couldn’t treat anyone? What did Steven do when he wasn’t with Pearl? Did he treat Pink Diamond? Did Diamonds even need rose quartzes? And how had he even been made?

Pearl knew where she came from. She’d been born, been designated, and been given her gem.

Gems for organic-gems were pre-made. Rubies, garnets, topazes, every gem but sapphires were pre-made and sent to hospitals with obstetric wings. When a baby as designated a gem was placed on their skin by a sapphire, whose gloves kept the gem from reacting to her. They reacted to the life of the baby and the baby and gem bonded for the life of the child.

Pearl’s gem would be hers until she died. Then when she did die, an onyx would reclaim her gem, pound it down to particles and mix it with other pearls her color to make new pearls that would start the cycle over. An organic-gem was never really gone, just shattered and spread across the many others of their gem-type that came after them.

Sometimes Pearl felt the others that had come before her in her gem. Men and women, pearls all, with different lives and different masters, encouraging her on, guiding her. That was one thing she knew natural-gem envied about organic-gems.

Did Steven have that? How had gotten his gem? Was he born with inside him? Was he born? Or had he, like a natural-gem, sprung fully formed from the ground one day? How old was he? He looked like matched Pearl’s nineteen, but if he was a natural gem, he could be hundreds or thousands of years old for all she knew. And if was, it would be forbidden for them to be matched together. It was probably forbidden already.

“Connie!”

Pearl jumped in her seat and turned towards the door. Steven was pressed against the wall next to the door, pressing the lock button on the wall, with his hood low on his face.

“Steven? What are you doing here?”

“I have a gift!” Steven whispered. “It’s for your first mission.”

“I have a mission?” Pearl said with excitement.

“Shh-shh. I’m not supposed to be here. If the Stars catch me, we’ll both have some explaining to do.”

“Oh. Right! So, what’s that.”

Steven hefted a bag of some kind up and smiled. “This is the famous cheeseburger backpack. I already adjusted the straps for you.”

Pearl laughed. “A bag that looks like a cheeseburger? Only on New Homeworld.”

“Right.” Steven handed the bag to Pearl.

“Hey, Steven,” Pearl said as she tested the weight of the bag. It was heavier than she thought it was going to be. “Do you have a job?”

“I … we all work for Pink Diamond’s plan,” he said with a laugh.

“You’re Pink Diamond’s rose quartz? Do you live in the tower?”

“Yea,” Steven said, looking at the floor. “It’s why I can’t be around more.”

“Does Pink Diamond know about me. Is this from you or her?”

Steven looked up. There was blush on his face. “Connie. I should tell you. I have to tell you. Why you’re here. I should have told you, but I didn’t know how. How do you tell someone … I don’t even want a Pearl, but they say I have to have one!”

A knock at the door captured both their attentions.

“Con-con! Yo! It’s Amethyst! You up?”

Pearl and Steven gasped. “Amethyst!” they whispered in unison.

“Steven you gotta get out of here!” Pearl said in a hushed voice.

“The window. I’ll float up to the roof then run to the side of the building.” Steven ran to the window, opened it and was gone before Pearl could say a thing.

Wishing Steven good luck in her mind, Pearl went to the door and unlocked it. It slid open with a soft swish and Amethyst stood there looking up at Pearl.

“Good,” Amethyst said. “You’re up and … where’d you get that?”

Pearl frowned in confusion. “The bag? It was just on the bed when I out of the shower.” A small lie, but it would put an end to things.

“Oh man. Wait until Garnet and Pearl getta load of this,” Amethyst muttered.

* * *

 

“Pearl! Garnet!” Amethyst’s voice bounced off the walls of the garage as she led Pearl to the vehicle they were taking to the docks.

“Amethyst!” Pink Pearl snapped. “Please. You’re setting a bad example for Connie.”

“Oh-ho. You are going to freak when you see this, P. Lil’ Pearl, show ‘em what you found on your bed this morning!”

Connie shifted from foot to foot, then pulled the backpack off her shoulder and held it up. Pink Pearl gasped and Garnet shifted slightly.

“Where?!” Pink Pearl squawked. “Did you get that?!”

“Like Amethyst said,” Pearl said. “I found it on my bed.”

Pearl wished she knew what the big deal was. How could a bag shaped like food be such a big deal for the likes of the Pink Stars? Unless, of course, they knew where it came from. Was her friendship with Steven about to be exposed? No, Steven wouldn’t be that foolish. Then why were they all panicking over a bag?

“Cah-razy! Right, Garnet?” Amethyst nudged Garnet leg.

Garnet was silent for a time, then slammed her right fist down into her left palm. “It’s time,” she said.

“Time?” Pink Pearl, Amethyst, and Pearl said together.

“Pearl, you drive.” Garnet pointed to the driver’s seat. “Connie, you’re in the back with me. Cheeseburger backpack showing up here means it’s time to tell you a story.”

“What kind of story?” Pearl asked. She considered that maybe she was about to be told about Steven and the hybrid project that had made him.

“The story of Pink Diamond, Form 2,” Garnet answered.

* * *

 

They piled in the vehicle, Amethyst and Pink Pearl upfront and Garnet and Connie in the back among the tools and weapons. They were sitting cross-legged, facing each other, cheeseburger backpack between them.

“What do you know what the Beginning of Era 3?” Garnet asked.

Pearl frowned in thought. “Era 3 began when Pink Diamond announced she’d be taking a big step to join natural-gems and organic-gems. It was at the last ball for Era 2 that Pink Diamond and White Diamond were seen in public.” Pearl consider adding the theories about Pink Diamond having a half-organic child, but dismissed those rumors as nonsense, thought of Steven, and grew scared that Steven wasn’t, in fact, Pink’s Diamond’s rose quartz, but her son, all in quick session and kept her mouth shut with a pleasant, pearl-like smile.

“Correct,” Garnet said. “Pink Diamond does want to bring natural-gem and organic-gem closer together. And when Era 3 began she took a new form, a better form, one that would bridge the divide between naturals and organic forever.”

“Really?” Pearl said and privately wondered if this new form could have children.

“But this new form was weak for a while,” Garnet went on. “Weak and confused, without any memory of who being a Diamond. Before Pink Diamond made the jump, she tasked us, her guard, the Pink Stars, with caring for her new form, and keeping it safe.”

Pearl nodded.

“That backpack was one of Pink Diamond’s favorite things while she was recovering from her form change. If she’s given it to you, she must want you to know about her.”

Casting a down, Pearl took a breath. The backpack wasn’t new. It wasn’t even in that great of condition. It looked more like a toy, something an elite was privileged to have that had no purpose but amusement. A pearl generally never had something so useless. But it had been well taken care of, stitched were it needed to be, patched, washed. This item was loved. And it was being given to her.

“I’m so grateful,” Pearl said, looking up.

“You deserve it,” Pink Pearl said from the driver’s seat.

“Yeah, way to go, Conster!” Amethyst chimed in.

“Welcome,” Garnet said. “to the Pink Stars.”

* * *

 

They ended up at the docks. Not one of the docks for spaceships that were dotted around the forests near the base, but docks for seafaring vessels. Pearl had never been on a boat before. She saw gems of all sorts, both natural and organic, running back and forth hauling shipments of rock and lobster, minerals and fish.

“What is all this?” Pearl asked excitedly.

“The sea-life is food for the organic gems,” Pink Pearl explained. “The minerals are for the injectors to make more natural gems for the other Diamonds’ colonies. New Homeworld and Pink Diamond’s colonies don’t have to strip their planet's resources to make natural gems, so they can outsource small amounts of important minerals and other resources to productions of natural gems going elsewhere. If it wasn’t for colonies of organic-gems carefully managing resources on Pink Diamond’s side of the Empire, natural gem’s would have out-grown their ability to make proper natural-gems long ago.”

“What would have happened then?” Pearl asked as they hurried past a huge cart of glittering black sand.

“We’d probably have to use technology to keep the natural-gem up to standard,” Pink Pearl mused. “You see, say Amethyst was in any other Diamond’s court. She’d have to wear limb enhancers to meet her height requirements. They’d make gems do that.”

“Hmph,” Amethyst muttered. “Like they could make me.”

“Pink Diamond would never,” Garnet said.

“And hopefully that’ll never be the case,” Pink Pearl went on. “As long as Pink Diamond lives and the organic part of the Empire thrives, the rest of the Empire will too. Pink Diamond is saving Homeworld from itself.”

Pearl looked out across the harbor. It wasn’t peridots and nephrites like on spaceship docks. There were topazes, jaspers, amethysts, agates, rubies, sapphires, and pearls. The whole cross-section of the empire was here working for Pink Diamond and they were keeping the rest of the Diamond Empire from eating itself alive with its ambition, keeping things in balance. Pearl clutched the straps of her backpack.

The Pink Stars owned a ship, but to Pearl’s surprise they weren’t taking a ship, but a submarine. It was a dark pink vessel which they all boarded, and Pearl found to be rather spacious. She sat down while Pink Pearl flipped some switches and turned some knobs. Garnet stood next to her, watching silently. Pearl was so busy watching Pink Pearl’s steady work at the controls she almost didn’t hear Amethyst sit down next to her.

“Hey, Lil’ P,” Amethyst said.

“Amethyst! Oh, hey.”

“So, what’s it like getting a gift from Pink D?”

“I … I don’t know. I’m really excited. I just hope she likes me.”

Amethyst snorted. “I’m sure she will.” She put her arm behind her head. “Look about today. Don’t freak out too much. This was Pink D’s first outing too and she was all “waahhhh!”” Amethyst shouted quietly and waved her hands gently at the sides of her head. “You know? And she … heh, don’t take this the wrong way, but there’s a reason we’re headed to the bottom of the ocean.”

“Is where we’re going not supposed to be at the bottom of the ocean or something?” Pearl laughed.

Amethyst winced playfully. “Uh, yeah. Basically.”

Pearl stopped laughing.

* * *

 

It turned their destination was a place called the Lunar Sea Spire, a former mission site for the weakened Pink Diamond. It might have been called the Sea Spire, but its current place, hovering inside an underwater vortex over a chasm, wasn’t where it was supposed to be. 

“How did this get down here?” Pearl asked as she gazed out the front window of the sub.

“Pink D was little … creative when she was recovering,” Amethyst muttered.

“But now,” Pink Pearl chimed in, “we have the perfect training ground for you!” Pink Pearl stood next to Pearl. “Now you haven’t been given that bag for this mission for nothing. Cheeseburger backpack first came with us to this very site. Oh, Connie, there’s so much history here! So, I want you to take the lead. Check your bag and make a plan to get to the top of the spire using the contents. Pink Diamond will have provided you with everything you need.”

“First thing,” Garnet said. “We have to get into the vortex without being sucked down into its depths.”

Pearl nodded and slipped the bag off her shoulders. She placed in the chair and opened it up. As if by magic, the very first thing she needed was lying on top, waiting for her.

“I’ve got it!” Pearl said.

“What is it?” Amethyst laughed. “A sweater?”

“What?” Pearl asked, confused. “What would I do with a sweater?”

“Never mind her,” Pink Pearl sighed. “She just thinking of one of Pink Diamond’s jokes.”

“Well it worked,” Amethyst complained.

“Connie,” Garnet said. “What have you got?”

Pearl pulled out a grappling hook and some rope. “This. We can anchor the sub to the rocks out here, then use Garnet’s gauntlets to fire this into the vortex attach it to the Spire. Then we can climb across.”

Pink Pearl and Amethyst’s faces were shocked. Garnet took the grappling hook in her gauntleted hand.

“Good work,” she said.

* * *

 

Once they were safely through the vortex and inside the Lunar Sea Spire, Pearl took a moment to look around using her gem for light. It drained her energy to light up her gem, and she knew should only use the ability in emergencies, but she’d grown stronger and figured they wouldn’t be there long.

The Spire must have grand once. The ceiling was high, and the staircase had something left of its magnificence. But now the Spire was crumbling, the walls cracked and covered in plant-life and slime. Things were crawling in the dark that Pearl couldn’t identify. What was left the carpet was eaten away but creatures or time or rotted away by water. Everything was dark and oppressive.

“Oh,” Pink Pearl moaned. “I thought things were bad last time! It’s a disaster down here.”

“I mean, I never saw this place in its glory days, but it does look like the bottom of a pit down here,” Amethyst muttered.

“That’s saying something, if you don’t like,” Pearl muttered. “I’ve seen your room.”

“Hey!” Amethyst shouted. “My room’s not this bad! There’s not – eee!” Amethyst shook her foot and something black with too many legs went flying off it. “There’s nothing crawling in my room! Guys! Let’s get to the top of this place and go home!”

They started walking in a group, keeping away from the walls and dark corners.

“So, what was this place like last time you were here?” Pearl asked.

“Pretty bad,” Pink Pearl answered. “But dry. Mostly just crumbling. Things knocked over. In ruins. It would have been restored by the Sea Goddess statue but …”

“But?” Pearl asked.

“There was a mix-up,” Pink Pearl sighed. “And now the Spire is down here. In a few hundred years, the Spire will rise to the surface and when the sun is in the right position like it is today, we’ll place the statue and restore the Spire to its former glory. Until then, this place makes a great training ground.”

“How did Pink Diamond feel about this place?” Pearl muttered, almost afraid to ask, but dying to know.

“Oh, Pink Diamond was so excited to come here. She got Cheeseburger backpack just for the occasion.”

“She used a sweater to launch herself over the vortex and onto the Spire,” Amethyst said.

Pink Pearl laughed nervously. “Yes, she was always very … headstrong.”

Pearl laughed. “I get why you asked for a sweater, then. I guess she figured a grappling hook would be easier the second time.”

“Yea,” Pink Pearl said, and then said something so low than Pearl couldn’t hear it.

“What’d you say?” Pearl asked.

“She,” Pink Pearl said. “I said, she sure has grown up.”

“Oh. Yea.” Pearl smiled a sweet pearl-like smile.

“Hold on, Stars,” Garnet said, stopped at the threshold of a door.

“Garnet?” Pink Pearl muttered.

“Pearl. Connie. Shine your light in there.”

Pink Pearl and Pearl did so, only to have the light bounce off dozens of crystals which skittered around for a moment before settling.

Amethyst groaned. “Crystal shrimp! No!”

“What are they?” Pearl asked, eyeing them.

“Nasty little things,” Pink Pearl huffed. “They can easily swarm us and force a retreat. And they’re too hard and small to hit properly. You end up just smashing them harmlessly into the floors and walls if you can manage to hit them. We need to get around them. Or better yet cause a distraction. And I have the perfect plan!”

“Um!” Amethyst cut in with a head tilt and a smile. “Isn’t Lil’ P supposed to making the plans today?”

“Oh! Right.” Pink Pearl turned to Pearl, smiling. “Connie?”

Pearl blushed and knelt, taking off her backpack. Just under where the grappling hook had been was a note. She’d seen it before but had noticed the word “distractions.” It seemed that now was the time to read that note. She pulled the from the bag and read it aloud.

“Distractions work better than fighting sometimes. To deal with Crystal Shrimp, open two jars at a time, throw one to each side and advance. Six jars in total.”

Pearl put the note in her gem, then reached for the first two jars. They were clear with metal tops and filled with brown sludge that was streaked with red, yellow, and orange, and had bubbles of what looked like grease.

“Is that taco meat?” Amethyst asked. She took the jars from Pearl and opened one. “Oooooh, yea. That’s taco meat.”

The room the crystal shrimp began to stir.

“Amethyst! Close that. They’re starting to come this way!” Pink Pearl reached for the lid and jar.

“No!” Pearl said. “Throw them into the sides of the room. Pearl here, take two. Garnet, you take the last two. You guys know their behavior better than me. You’ll know where to throw them.”

“Get ready to run, Stars,” Garnet said and strode into the with two open jars of taco meat.

* * *

 

The lounge which the crystal shrimp inhabited was a round room as almost wide as a Spire with one door in the center of the front wall, and another in the center of the back wall. There were chairs and couches littered around the room, behind which the Stars could throw the jars. Two of the room’s curved walls were transparent and gave a view of the swirling vortex that surrounded the Spire. The six jars of taco meat easily cleared a path through the room. On the other side of the room, a set of stairs wound up into the darkness. They took the stairwell to the next floor before stopping.

“What was that room?” Pearl asked as she caught her breath.

“Just the mid-level lounge,” Pink Pearl answered. She was peeking around the corner, down the stairs, back the way they’d come.

“We should keep moving,” Garnet said.

They took up a diamond formation. Amethyst was in the front. Pearl and Pink Pearl were behind her and closer to the walls, shining their lights forward down the hall. Garnet brought up the center rear.

The Spire was dark and silent in the top half. The Stars took it one floor at a time, checking side rooms for anything suspicious. There was rotting and crumbling furniture. The walls and floors were damaged. Things were crawling in the corners where the lights didn’t reach, though thankfully none of them were crystal shrimp. But other than dim, damp, darkness, there was nothing to be found.

At last, they came to top the Spire. It was bare but lit from the sun. The top of the vortex closed above them, a swirling mass of water above their heads, head up impossibly by magic. It made Connie uneasy.

“So we’re here,” Connie said. “Do we place the statue now?”

“We can’t,” Pink Pearl said sadly, producing the Moon Goddess Statue from her gem. “The Statue absorbs energy from the sun. And down here and the sunlight is too diluted to charge it.”

“Um, shouldn’t a Moon Goddess Statue get its energy from the  _ moon _ ?” Amethyst suggested.

“Not necessarily,” Pearl said walking over to the altar. “Moons light up because they reflect light from the sun at the planet. Maybe the Statue works the same way.”

“Very good, Connie!” Pink Pearl exclaimed.

“But how will the temple be restored if the Statue can’t be recharge down here?” Pearl asked.

Pink Pearl groaned. “Well, eventually the Spire will gain enough ambient energy to rise to the surface. Then we just have to wait for another day when the temple allows people in, then we can restore it.”

“But that would take … hundreds or thousands of years! We should do it now!”

“Yea!” Amethyst agreed. “I don’t want to come back here. But how do we do it?”

Pearl frowned for a moment and touched the altar. It was smooth rock, probably hewn from a single piece and chiseled down. The benches at the park on Centruri had been the same. Pearl had created a weak laser on that bench on summer and accident burnt a hole in her good dance dress.

Gasping, Pearl whirled around. “Amethyst! Can you hold me up?”

“Pss! Ye-ah! Com’mer.” Amethyst trotted towards Pearl and hoisted her up onto her shoulders without a pause.

“Great!” Pearl giggled. “Pearl, do you have a magnifying glass? We’re going to undilute the sunshine and activated the Moon Goddess Statue!”

“W-what? Well, I think so.” Pink Pearl’s gem lit up, and after a moment she produced two big magnifying glasses. “Will these work?”

“Perfect!” Pearl shouted. “Now I’ll—”

Garnet took the glasses in her gauntleted hands. “In case,” she said with a small smile. Garnet walked up over to the altar and placed the glasses over each other. Then she looked at Pearl.

“Good,” Pearl said with a nod. “Right. Now, the sun is going to bend when it comes through each lens. So I’ll have to align each glass to get the strongest light beam, then align both glasses together to move that light beam to the center to the altar.” Pearl looked at Pink Pearl. “When it’s in the right place, you can place the Statute.”

Pink Pearl nodded.

“Everybody ready?” Pearl asked.

The Stars nodded.

Pearl began adjusting the Garnets hands, paying attention to the beams of light coming through the lenses. She had Amethyst raise and lower her, depending on if she needed to be higher or lower than the lenses. When she finally got the alignment right Pearl let go of Garnet.

“Now,” she whispered; afraid her breath may change the course of the light.

Pink Pearl hurried forward slipped the Statue under the magnifying glasses.

At first, there was no reaction. Seconds ticked by. No one moved.

“Did it work?” Amethyst asked.

Then, as if to answer her question, the Statue lit up. The light from the Statue traveled in neat lines across the top of the altar, then down the sides, then across the floor.

“Garnet, hold the magnifying glasses steady!” Pink pearl shouted as the lines of light stretched out farther and farther.

“We should tie ourselves down!” Pearl suggested, grabbing the altar.

“I got it!” Amethyst shouted. The floor started to shake as she manifested her whip and flung it out. The whip tangled around them and Amethyst tied the end into a knot.

“Halo-Pearls, go!” Pink Pearl shouted. Four transparent pearls shot from her gem, each with a spear in hand. They turned their spears point down and slammed them into the mass of whip that wrapped up the Stars, anchoring them to the floor, which was just as well, because the Spire was rising.

Like a spaceship moving from orbit to deep space, the Spire sped upwards, upwards, upwards. Pearl had a moment of bravery and looked up, expecting to see the top of the vortex about to crash over them. But the vortex was rising with them. The whole vortex and Spire and everything was shooting up through the water. There some part of Pearl that wanted to watch their ascent, but they were going too fast the water and air stung her face and eyes, so she shut them and lowered her head. They sped up.

Pearl heard Amethyst and Pink Pearl shouting. And a groaning sound that might have been Garnet. She clenched her back teeth to keep from screaming. It felt like she was having a panic attack, trying not to scream, tears in her eyes. But she was not panicking she was rocking upwards at incredible speed tied to an ancient structure. And she was in incredible pain, especially her hands.

As they rose higher and higher there was a crash like something hitting the surface of the water and a bright light surrounded them. Pearl was certain she was going to pass out. A whimper left her that she more felt than heard. The Spire slowed, slowed. Then it stopped. Pearl opened her eyes and found she was shaking. The other Stars were looking around, breathless.

“We … did it,” Pink Pearl murmured. “We did it!”

Amethyst’s whip disappeared, as did the Halo-Pearls, and Pink Pearl hugged Pearl, trapping her arms to her sides and whirling her around. “You did it, Connie! What a masterpiece! That was brilliant! I’m going to tell Pink Diamond that you – Connie?”

Pearl found herself set on her feet, but her knees buckled. She looked up at Pink Pearl to find red streaks staining Pearl’s clothes.

“Your shirt,” Pearl muttered.

“Garnet! She’s bleeding!” Pink Pearl yelled.

“We can take her to the hospital!” Amethyst said. She was hopping from foot to foot in Pearl’s peripheral vision. “Oh man! My whip did this. Look at her hands! We gotta go!”

Pearl’s hazy vision wandered down to her half-closed hands, but upon seeing them, she looked elsewhere. Then her eyes closed. Pearl could still see. Her vision was rounded, like looking through a telescope. And it was low. It took Pearl a moment to realize she was seeing from inside her gem.

“Stars!” Garnet said. “We’ll take her to Pink Diamond!”

A pang of excitement shot through Pearl. She was being brought to Pink Diamond! She wanted to see her so badly. But she was so tired. And she was getting pulled deeper into her gem as if it was telling her to rest. Maybe she should. Pink Diamond would take care of everything.

* * *

 

Pearl took a deep, revitalizing breath as she rose through the layers of her gem and popped out into her physical body.

“Wow!” was the first thing she said. The room she found herself sitting up in was all shades of light Pink, including the soft bed she was in.

“Connie,” someone just behind her head whispered. She turned to find Steven there, grinning widely. “Hi.”

“Steven! I was … inside my gem.”

“Oh that happens,” Steven said with a shake of his head. His long hair was loose, more wavy and poofy than curly now that Pearl could see it out, and it moved around his face. “You got poofed.”

“I can’t get poofed. I’m organic.”

“Well, yes and no,” Steven said. “Your body can’t disappear but if you fall unconscious or get too hurt, your gem will shield your mind from it, so you don’t remember the pain of the incident. That way someone can get you to a rose quartz and when she fixes you up, you’ll be good as new without having any bad memories of what happened.”

“Oh. Good,” Pearl muttered and looked down at her hands. Steven was right. She couldn’t remember what her hands had looked like before. Pearl just had a curious notion that at one time they’d been injured, more like a fact she’d read once, than a memory of a horrific injury she hadn’t been able to look at. Pearl dropped her hand and sighed. “Did you heal me?”

Steven laughed. “Oh. No. Pink Diamond healed you.”

“Pink Diamond?! Really. Is she here? Can I see her?”

“Well, well … she was here,” Steven said quickly. “But she’s gone now.” He sighed. “She heard about the Lunar Sea Spire. Everyone’s heard. They’re having a party there now. Everyone is so excited that you fixed it. It hasn’t worked since the Rebellion. The Rebel Leader destroyed it and then … Pink Diamond sent it to the bottom of the ocean by accident so everybody’s really impressed with you.”

“Oh,” Pearl said politely. “That’s good.”

“Anyway, I’m not really supposed to be in here. Being a secret and all. The Stars will come and take you home soon.”

“Home from where?” Pearl asked. “Where are we?”

“In Pink Diamond’s tower,” Steven answered.

“Oh.” Pearl paused for a moment then said. “Steven. I know there are things you can’t tell me yet. Because I can’t know them until the Pink Stars tell me them. But there was something you were going to tell me earlier, before my mission. And now we’re here. I just have to know.”

“What? Connie? I can explain!” Steven sat down on the bed next to Pearl.

“There’s no need to explain,” Pearl sighed. “You pretty much said it. I’m your pearl, aren’t I. That’s why you’re always checking up on me. Pink Diamond made you and I’m your pearl. Or I’m going to be once I prove myself.”

Steven sat frozen with a blush on his face.

“I’m right aren’t I?” Pearl asked deadpan.

“I … yea. I’m sorry. I—”

“It’s fine,” Pearl sighed. “It’s more than fine. You’re a great friend, Rose Quartz. And I’d love to be your pearl.”

“Connie…” Steven whined happily. “I … wanted to tell you.”

“It’s okay. But I do have one more question.”

“Anything!” Steven shook his head. “Well … not anything. Ask it and I’ll see if I can answer.”

“Were you born with your gem in your body? Or did you pop out of the ground with it? How old are you?”

Laughing, Steven put an arm around Pearl. “I was born a baby, just a baby with a gem in me. And I’m twenty-one.”

“Really? I’m only nineteen.” Pearl frowned.

“Nineteen is a good age. They started pushing me to get a pearl at … never mind.”

Pearl smirked and gave him a look. “Right. When will you get matched?”

“M-matched?!” Steven looked up. “Ho-ho-ho. I don’t know! When I find the right gem I guess! Like Ruby and Sapphire! Matched! Hahaha!”

“Okay, okay.” Pearl laughed. That wasn’t going anywhere, but she’d tried. Maybe he’d be willing to talk about Pink Diamond. “What about your parents? Who are they?”

“My Dad’s an organic-ametrine.”

“A musician!”

“Yep. He plays the guitar mostly.”

“And your Mom?” Pearl nudged Steven.

“Mom? Mom is … no longer with us…”

“What?”

“She … when she had me … we couldn’t both exist. She was … a natural rose quartz and gave up her form to have me, and I got her gem. Rose Quartz died to have me.”

“Does Pink Diamond take care of you now? Did she approve this!?”

“Well … Pink Diamond did approve this.”

Pearl was quiet. How could Pink Diamond allow one of her subjects to die to make a hybrid gem? Was it some sort of experiment? Were Rose Quartz and Ametrine really in love? If so, how could he be okay with her death? Was this the real reason natural-organic matches were forbidden? Would Pink Diamond allow another rose quartz to matched with a pearl? What about Steven being Pink Diamond’s son? Was this sad story all a lie? Could Steven do that to her?

“Connie?” Steven said squeezing her around the shoulders. “Are you okay?”

“Yea … I just … I’m sorry, Steven.”

“It’s okay.” He held her and pressed a cheek to her hair. “It’s hard for people to understand. My parents loved each other, and Mom want to have a child. She thought to have children was the most organic thing she could do, and she could be pretty stubborn.”

“Like sneaking around and breaking rules to visit your pearl when it’s not allowed?”

“Yeah, like that.”

“Will you stay for a little while?” Pearl asked.

“Anything for my Pearl,” Steven replied.

Pearl leaned into Steven. The pink highlights of his hair were especially strong in the all pink room. She decided to let the truth rest for now. Steven was Her Quartz, after all. She trusted him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? Finally an update? On a Sunday!? Magical! I'm back with chapters, pals. And a brand new Blog for all things Be His Knight.
> 
> https://his-knight-connie.tumblr.com/ is where you can go for between chapter stuff. Ask Pearl!Connie questions and get drabbles for answers. I'll be posting previews and sketches for upcoming chapters. And of course remember to comment on the chapters here on AO3.


	6. A Pink Pearl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl is offered a new set of clothes.

Pearl slept in the pink bedroom with no windows in Pink Diamond’s tower. She had fallen asleep under Rose’s arm and woken up later briefly lying on her side in the darkened pink room tucked into the bed. Drowsy and disinclined to figure out why the Stars hadn’t come to get her, she melted into the pillows and fallen back asleep. Pearl woke up sometime later with the lights on.

For a minute she just sat in bed, wondering what to do. More than likely she shouldn’t wander around Pink Diamond’s Tower. She didn’t know what she would do if she ran into anyone, especially Pink Diamond herself. She couldn’t be honest, that she was looking for Rose Quartz. Pearl wasn’t sure what, if anything, she was supposed to know about Rose at this point.

What did she know about Rose? He had been born when his mother, the Rose quartz who had his gem originally, gave birth to him and gave him her gem. His father was an organic ametrine. The fact that natural and organic gems could have hybrid children together was a secret. The fact that the child would natural gem would give have had to give up their gem and their form to have the child was probably why natural and gem organic gems were forbidden to be matched together. Pink Diamond had allowed the first Rose to disappear to have second Rose and had then made him a Pink Star and cared for him during her reformation. She’d even gotten him a pearl.

“Rose must be special to Pink Diamond,” Pearl mused as she got up.

It was an honor to be the pearl of someone so high ranking. And not just an ornamental pearl, a bodyguard and protector.

Pearl unclasped the front of her gem harness, starting at the bottom and working her way up. Then carefully pulled it off. Inside was a chain that she could attach her gem to so it could be wrapped around her body, but she was going to strip down first. Her clothes were the same bloody, torn ones she’d been rushed away from the Lunar Sea Spire in.

Taking a deep breath, Pearl rolled her shoulders. She hadn’t been in her stiff, waist-coat style gem-harness for this long before. She’d certainly had never slept in it. It was tight and made her chest and back hurt after all this time. Having her gem so close _was_ nice. Pearl normally wore loose harnesses of ornate necklaces, fancy but not functional. Her new harness was for fighting in. However, Stars, it was nice to be free of it for the moment.

Able to breathe, Pearl stripped off her shirt and leggings, then stretched. She didn’t know where her shoes were but she wasn’t too worried about it. It was nice to be in her leotard, which was for all intents and purposes, only a gem-colored second skin. Organic gems wore leotards or singlets under their clothes made of material Pearl still couldn’t identify that moved with them. Like their gems, it responded to their minds, and it only had to be added to when a gem grew in childhood, or it was damaged. After so long in her harness, being just in her leotard was wonderful.

Pearl was half through her stretches when the door opened.

“Hi, Connie! I brought you –”

It was Rose, at the with a bundle in his hands, red-faced because he was staring right her, and she was gemless.

“Rose!” Pearl shrieked and turned around arms covering the spot on her chest where her gem should have been. She heard the door slam shut. With quick fingers, Pearl unlaced the chain from her harness and wrapped it around her, then clasped her gem into it. So, covered, she ran for the door and opened it with a swipe.

“Rose?” Pearl called softly.

Rose was standing next to the door, red-faced, his dark hair covering his eyes.

“H-hi, Pearl.”

“Hi. I’m decent.”

Rose peeked at her, looking directly at her face for a moment, before shyly glancing down at her chest where her gem hung. He sighed in relief.

“Sorry, about…”

“It’s okay! I didn’t know you were going to—”

“I wanted to bring you—” Rose went on.

“I’m very grateful—” Pearl cut in.

They both laughed nervously and sighed before silence overtook them. For a few seconds, they stood in the doorway not talking. Then Rose shifted slightly.

“We should head in,” he said. “I shouldn’t be seen out here.”

“Right,” Pearl said and stepped aside to let Rose inside.

Inside, Rose locked the door then headed over to a corner of the room where a privacy screen stood. Pearl was sure where they’d come from, but Rose had brought her a change of clothes. The entire outfit was in pink: off-white blush-colored leggings, magenta shorts, a cherry blossom shirt, a harness that matched the shorts, and a cloak that shade as Rose’s. The cloak was stitched with black around the edges, and the shoes were black.

“Are these Pink Pearl’s clothes?”

Rose flushed and cleared his throat. “No. Pearl uses white, pink, yellow, and blue clothes.”

Pearl paused mid-way through examining the bundle. Rose was right. Pink Pearl, despite her name, didn’t dress in pink, but in a multi-color outfit of all the Diamonds. Pearl laughed.

“Of course! Duh. Sorry.” Pearl smiled apologetically. “Rainbow!”

“W-what?!” Rose barked.

“Pink Pearl is Pink Diamond’s Pearl, but her gem type is Rainbow Pearl.” Pearl smiled. “I found her and the other Diamond’s Pearl’s types when I was trying to find you in the system for fun. I couldn’t believe Pink Diamond owns a Rainbow Pearl! Do you know how rare those are?”

“Oh…” Rose muttered. “What kind of pearl are you?”

“Ugh!” Pearl muttered. “An Aubergine Pearl.” Pearl turned so that her chest was facing Rose. In the slim chain-harness hung her dark, reddish gem.

“It’s like a pearl version of a garnet,” Rose said mystified.

Blushing, Pearl watched his face. Somehow this was different from when she was mistaken for a garnet as a child.

Rose looked up. “I never noticed how beautiful your gem is.”

“I … have to switch harnesses …” Pearl muttered.

Rose nodded and wandered away from the privacy screen. “I’m just going to stand over here.” He called.

Frowning, Pearl stared at Rose’s back, then sighed and slipped behind the screen. Concealed, she took off her temporary harness. Left in her leotard again, she quickly dressed and returned her gem to its place on her chest. As it clicked in place, she sighed.

“Okay,” Pearl called as she stepped out.

Rose had his hood on and was adjusting it over his face. “You look good. Come on.”

“Where are we going?” Pearl asked, rushing to keep up with Rose’s quick steps.

“I thought, now that you know about … why you’re here, we can go out. The Pink Stars will be out for a bit, so we can spend the day together.”

They were walking fast, ducking through the halls, avoiding the topazes and rubies marching up and down the halls.

“But where are we going?” Pearl asked.

 “Have you ever been anywhere besides your home colony and New Homeworld?”

“No,” Pearl said.

“You didn’t even get to stop anywhere on the way here?”

“We were in a hurry to get here,” Pearl explained.

“That’s good. I wanted to take you to one of Yellow’s bases from before … from Era One.”

“From Era One?” Pearl gasped. “Is that okay?”

“As long as no one finds out,” Rose chuckled. He grabbed her hand and started running.

 I occurred to Pearl that this trip was Rose’s first act as her Quartz. “Do you have the authority to do this, My Quartz?”

Rose Quartz over his shoulder, guilty, shy, then playful, one right after the other. “I have the authority to do a lot of things, as long as I don’t tell anyone I’m doing it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't forget to check my blog for this story: https://his-knight-connie.tumblr.com/  
> Check out Nacrepearl's blog, and commission her if you can: https://nacrepearl.tumblr.com/  
> And kudos (if you haven't) and comment. More illustrations in the form of commissions and my art will be peppering this story so comments really help.


	7. Jungle Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl joins Her Quartz on a outing to an old Moon Base.

The warp pad they used to access the moon was a mile or so away from Yellow Diamond's base. Rose had said they were "making the day of it" so there was no point of warping straight into the base. Unlike the moon base of New Homeworld, the moon of Yellow Diamond's planet was lush and full of life. It smelled someone more pungent than the forests of New Homeworld but was similar colors to Pearl's own home colony.

"It's beautiful here," Pearl breathed as they picked their way through the dense leaves.

"It is nice," Rose sighed. He had taken off his hood and pulled his ponytail out of the cloak. The bulk of his cape was pushed back over his shoulders. "I used to sneak down into the jungle from the moon base when we came here. No one ever liked it."

"Oh?" Pearl frowned. "Why?"

"They said it was … dangerous."

Pearl glanced around. The dense forest rose up around them reaching to the vibrant sky. The humid air seemed even more alive than New Homeworld, and now that Pearl was looking, she noticed creatures skittering and darting in and out of sight around them. Clenching her fists, Pearl moved a little closer to Rose.

"Well," Pearl said. "You're safe with me."

Rose laughed. "Of course I am."

* * *

 

They walked into the lush, pungent forest together, cutting a path through the crawling things under all the leaves. Whatever they were, they didn't want anything to do with gems. Pearl was fine with that. Rose sang under his breath as they went along.

"I can't help it if a make scene…"

Pearl stayed close to him, her cape thrown over her shoulders, eyes scanning their surroundings. She didn't want to be caught off guard.

"I'm turning heads and stopping traffic…"

But Rose's voice was so soothing. His voice was deep and smooth, something like the ocean rumbling far away but at a lower pitch. Pearl found her being lulled by it.

"I've got a pair of eyes that their getting lost in…"

And Pearl knew the words to this song. It played often in the shops in town where Pink Pearl liked to Pearl to shop on their days off. Pearl's eyes drifted from their surroundings to Rose's back. His hood was down, and his dark ponytail was falling down his back. Pearl wished he didn't always wear his cloak.

"I've got ‘em dazzled like a stage magician!"

Pearl also wished that annoying buzzing would die down so she could hear him sing properly. He was really getting into now and some sort of really loud buzzing had started up and it was getting louder and louder.

"When I point, they look, and when I talk –" Rose stopped and turned his head. "What's that … buzzing noise?"

Shaking from her pinning and staring and embarrassed by how much of her brain had been taken up by it, Pearl coughed. "Um … I don't know. I hear it –"

Before Pearl could finish her sentence, Rose grabbed her and pulled her to his chest. The next thing she knew, they were surrounded by one of his protective bubbles. Just outside the pink sphere, a swarm of huge flying things engulfed the area.

They were as big Pearl's head, with translucent wings and six long, sharp legs. Some of them skid across the surface of the bubble, knocking it back and forth. Other's slammed right into the front with a jarring cRack then crawled with their needle-sharp legs up to the top of the bubble to take off from there.

The swarm lasted long enough for Pearl to stop being alarmed by all the noises and to relax into Rose's embrace.

"What are they?" she asked.

Rose's arms were settled around Pearl's shoulders. He spoke into her hair.

"I don't know. I've never seen them before." Rose's voice was soft and reverent. "They're beautiful. But I sure wouldn't want to be out there with them."

As if to mark his words, as suddenly as it had started the swarm thinned out and disappeared. In their wake was a straight line of destruction. The dense forest was cut right down the middle with a barren stripe of leafless plants and naked trees. Upon closer inspection the trees weren't just barren, they were dead. And little skittering things that had been in the foliage were nothing but husks now.

"Well, that's terrifying," Rose said almost cheerfully. "Let's keep going and make sure to listen for buzzing."

The bubble dropped and Rose started walking, his hand cupped around Pearl's, pulling her along.

* * *

 

They walked faster after the run-in with the bugs.  Rose didn't sing. But he did start humming after a while, still so pleased to be out. Pearl got the feeling Rose didn't get to get out much. He was a secret, after all. Even she, his own pearl, didn't have permission to know him yet. Pearl took long strides to keep up with Rose, and they walked, step-for-step in line with each other.

Rose must have noticed them stepping in time with each other because he began to hum a tune that had beat which matched their steps. He skipped left, and so did Pearl. Rose skipped right, and Pearl followed. Rose chuckled and squeezed her hand.

Pearl smiled then skipped in a complicated way, one foot in front of, to the side of, then behind the other. She did it once, then again. The second time Rose stepped with perfectly.

Laughing lightly, they sped up. Rose hummed a tune and Pearl picked the steps, and they went dancing and tapping towards the tower. It was better than Pearl's dance classes. There was no obsession with perfection of form. They made mistakes, they tripped and stumbled. They laughed. On the crest of a rather large hill, Rose picked Pearl up and twirled her around.

Laughing, Pearl gripped onto him. "Rose!" she shouted between laughs. "Stop! Put me down!" But she couldn't stop laughing. "Come on!"

They were floating. Rising from the forest floor through the leaves.

"Rose! Come on!" Pearl laughed. "How will we get down?"

"I'll get us down!" Rose laughed, still spinning them around and around.

Pearl felt her head getting light. "Rose, hahaha, I'm getting … dizzy!"

And just like that, they were back on the ground, leaning on each other laughing.

"That was great," Rose said.

"A-haha. Yea," Pearl said. "It was …" Pearl stood up. She was still a little out of breath and dizzy, but she heard something.

"Connie?" Rose murmured. There was still a smile on his face. "What's the matter?"

Pearl stood and listened. She heard nothing. They hadn't heard silence in this forest silence they warped in.

"My Quartz," Pearl began, but before she could say anything else something burst out of the ground.

The force the creature used to push out of the ground knock Pearl away from Rose and knocked her to ground. She tucked and rolled into the fall, and bounced to her feet with her sword drawn. On the other side of the creature, Pearl saw Rose had taken to the air to survey the situation.

"Don't worry, My Quartz!" Pearl shouted. "I've got this!" Then Pearl turned her attention to the creature.

It was the same as those flying things from earlier only much bigger and with sharper-looking legs, and deadly looking mandibles. Maybe it was a mature version of the little ones. Whatever it was, it was going to be in pieces when Pearl was done with it.

She rushed it, jumping from side to side to confuse it, then sliding under it, to attack its legs from underneath. It first two legs on the right side come away easily and the insect-creature fell on its side with a low, annoying, clicking noise. Turning, Pearl jump on it's back turned her sword blade-down and swiped left to right, severing the creature's head. The insect-creature twitched for a few seconds before going still.

Pearl nodded, then jumped off the husk. It was leaking foul-smelling gunk.

"Are you okay, My Quartz?" Pearl asked.

Rose looked at her from her place in the air. Or he was looking at the creature.

"I'm fine," he said.

"What was that thing?" Pearl asked.

"I don't know," Rose muttered. He was lowering to the ground.

When touched the ground Pearl could see he was looking at the creature's body. He looked unreadable. Pearl normally had trouble guessing what Rose was thinking. When he wanted to keep his thoughts to himself, he did. There were times when he looked out of the thoughts and didn't speak, and she just had to live with that. This seemed to be one of those times.

After seconds he turned his back to the creature and to her. "Let's go," he said and started walking.

Pearl just followed him.

They walked towards the tower in silence. Or at least there was silence between Pearl and Rose. The forest around them was as loud as ever, absolutely driving Pearl crazy with the white noise of unseen creeping, crawling life. She felt all the inching, wringing things in the leaves and shadows on her nerves and it made her twitchy. Ahead of her, Rose walked at a steady pace, without looking back at her.

Suddenly, Pearl stopped, determined to clear the air. However, before she could say anything, Rose stopped and turned around.

"This was a mistake," Rose said. He was frowning, his voice low.

"W-what was, my Quartz?" Pearl answered.

Rose growled. "This! This trip was! I thought … I thought it would be good to get out together, but everything has gone wrong! This isn't—"

An ear-piercing shriek split the air, cutting off Rose. Pearl physically ducked, the sounded was so strong, and saw Rose to the same. He glanced at her, wincing in pain, then put up a bubble around himself. Pearl, seeing they were in danger again, drew her sword with one hand and began to look around.

After several more painful seconds, the sound stopped and a giant, round bird-like creature burst out of the foliage. Pearl gasped and glanced at Rose who was waving his hands and shaking his head inside his bubble.

"Don't worry, Rose!" Pearl called. "I can't do this! Stay right there!"

The bird-blob titled his head to look at Rose, then roared and pivoted to face him.

"Oh, no you don't!" Pearl said and jumped between Rose and the blob, She slashed the air in front of it to get its attention. "Stay back! Stay back you— whoa!"

Before she could attack, Pearl found herself encased in Pink and dragged back. She hit Rose's chest with a thud and was knocked to her feet. The bird-blob stared a for second before charging them both with a scream. Pearl attempted to stand, but Rose pushed her down at her shoulders. The bubble, meanwhile, grew into a new shape of polygon slats which the bird-blob harmlessly bounced off. It bounced away, got up after a moment, bounced back over to the shield more carefully. Pearl watched at it pecked at the shield a few times, then as if was satisfied with something, bounced back to the foliage it has come from.

The bird-blob called into the leaves, and another, smaller bird-blob came bouncing out. The two quickly bounced away. When they were gone, the shield dropped.

"See? It was just protecting its baby. Nothing to fight." Rose took his hands off Pearl's shoulder and walked from behind her, a little ways toward where the birds had gone.

"I thought with would be fun," Rose said. "But it's not fun. Ever since I told you about why you came here you've just wanted to protect me! But I don't need protecting! I can't take care of myself!"

"But I'm supposed to protect you!" Pearl said. "I'm a member of the Pink Stars. And I'm a fighting pearl. What else am I for?"

Rose turned around. "You can be for anything you want! You don't have to be FOR anything! And I don't need protection! Not from the Stars and not from you! You're my friend!"

"Of Course! But I'm always going to be your pearl, My Quartz!"

"Stop it! Stop saying that! You don't have to be my pearl. We can just be friends. Family."

"My Quartz, I"

"And stop CALLING me that! I'm Steven! Just Steven. I'm not HER!"

Everything seemed to go quiet, even the birds. Pearl was sitting on the ground, watching him. Only half his face was visible behind his hood and hair. He was crying.

"I mean … I mean …" He wiped his eyes on his shirt.

Pearl got up and closed the distance between them. She put her arm around his torso and let herself rest on him. She didn't know what to say at first. So, she said the first thing that came to her mind.

"Steven," she breathed.

Slowly, Steven put his arms around her shoulders. "Remember when we had a make-up picnic? And we played music all day? You taught yourself to play violin laying down so we could lie in the grass and play. It gave you a cramp. Then I said we were jam buds because on New Homeworld to play music together is called jamming, and we were eating jam and biscuits and you said,"

"Only on Pink's World," they said together.

"I thought it could be like that all the time," Steven said. "I thought we could be jam buds. I didn't think we'd have to be a gem and their pearl, like everyone else."

"Steven. I'm so sorry. I just wanted to be a good pearl because you're such a good friend."

"You can be a good pearl just by being a good friend. You can just be you. You don't have to Pearl first and Connie second. That's the beauty of being a natural gem. Your gem type doesn't define you. I wish I had that."

She squeezed him. "Steven."

"Connie."

They held each other, tighter and tighter, not completely sure of why. Pearl just found she understood somethings about life that she hadn't understood before. She felt she understood things about Steven, and about herself. She felt her gem pressing into her chest, warm and alive. And she was so close to Steven she felt his gem too, and his skin, and muscles, the glow of him, the breath in his lungs.

_What's happening to us?_

But before they could find the answer to that question, the planet's wildlife showed up again. A herd of unrelated animals came running into them, knocking them apart. Pearl gasped and sat up.

"What was?!"

"I don't know! I think…! Connie!" Steven was on his hands and knees, hood down, hair pushed out of his face. "Connie, I think—"

_Buzzzzzzzzzzzz_

"Oh NO!" Steven and Connie shouted together.

"To the tower, quick!" Steven shouted as she scrambled to his feet and grabbed Connie's hand.

They ran together, Steven leading and floating them over obstacles if need be, until the reached the safety of the broken-down base. Then slammed into the side base from the speed they were going, before Pearl used her sword to slash them a way inside.

Inside was ravished by time and wildlife but not bad enough that it couldn't be fixed.

"How old is this place?" Pearl asked.

"Older than New Homeworld," Steven muttered. "Pink used to come here before she got New Homeworld as a colony when this place was still a moon base for the planet."

They took the stairs up the throne room where a beautiful view of the sky and the former colony could be seen. Pearl tutted.

"What a waste," she said. "All those resources left behind and destroyed because of strip mining."

"That's the way Era 1 and Era 2 worked. But then Pink began fixing things. Yellow, Blue, and White still make colonies in a similar fashion now, but we don't."

"Hmm. Thank goodness for Pink Diamond."

"Heh. Yea." Steven sighed. "The Stars were right. This place is dangerous."

"Yea." Pearl sighed as well.

"The warp pad is over this way. Come on."

They wandered over to the warp pad. On the way, Pearl caught a glance of the murals for the Diamonds. Here Pink Diamond looked different. Larger, daintier, somehow, with a more intricate outfit. Same hair though, puffy and halo-like. Pearl smiled. She wasn't anyone but herself, was she?

"Connie?" Steven called.

"Coming!" Pearl rushed to catch up. "I was thinking. If Pink Diamond was organic, do you think she'd use her name?"

Steven paused as he stepped on the warp pad. His face was pink. "P-probably. I mean. Yea. Definitely."

"Good," Pearl said.

They got on the warp pad together, and Steven took Pearl's hand. Pearl glanced at him and smiled.

"Connie?" Steven muttered as they warp pad flared to life.

"Yes?"

"Back there. Did we almost … fuse?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please drop me a comment and if you feel like it, request a drabble or send an ask to the Be His Knight Tumblr. https://his-knight-connie.tumblr.com/
> 
> Edit: It has been brought to my attention that I am an idiot and the asks weren't working up until the morning of 10/14/2019. Well, they're working now. And they look like this:
> 
> Just click that ol' questions & drabble request button and send me things. And I'm very sorry this wasn't working up until now. Much thanks to reader Milklineep for being eagle-eyed and bring the problem to my attention.


	8. The Concert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie goes to a Sadie Killer and Suspects concert.

Connie. Connie, connie, connie. Co. Nnie.

It didn't feel quite right. But it didn't feel wrong either. It was just, different. She had never used her name before. She had never thought of it as her name. She was Pearl, Type Aubergine, Facet MHS-WRN, Cut CN-NI. In school, when she had been one of a class full of different colored pearls, she had been called Aubergine Pearl. If she was in trouble- which was more often than not if a teacher was acknowledging her – she was referred to as "Pearl Facet Mesh Dash Wern." Her facet's official pronunciation was "Maheswaran" but strangely enough the official pronunciation was never used by officials. Thinking of herself as anything but Pearl was just so foreign.

Still, Steven had asked her to try and he was her quartz. He didn't think of himself as Rose Quartz, so she didn't have to think of herself as Pearl. And he was going to prove his point with an outing. They were going into town together to meet some of Steven's other friends.

Steven apparently had an easy time hiding his special importance from his friends since it was popular in Beach City for young gems to hide their gems and gem types when off duty to equalize things. People knew Steven had taken over his mother's spot in Pink Diamond's court as rose quartz but knew no details beyond that. Since they refused to ask, due to the social custom of the day, he didn't have to lie.

“We can all just be ourselves!” Steven had said. “You’ll see. You’ll love it!”

She hoped she loved it. She wanted to love it, for Steven.

“Connie!” Steven appeared out of nowhere, floating down from the air.

He had told her to wait for him in a strange place, near the old gem temple by the beach. She looked up, frowning.

“Where did you come from?” she asked.

“The Temple. I have access to it. Pink Diamond gained access to the inner sanctum when she regained control from the Crystal Gems.”

“Oh….” She looked at Steven. He was wearing his cloak as usual, but new pants and shoes, slim black leggings, and fancy new shoes. “You’ve got new clothes for the concert?”

“Yep! It’s sort of a thing. I got you a dress for the show.” Steven reached into a bag he had slung across his body and pulled out a shirt.

She held it up. It was black as well with a pink diamond over where her gem would be. The dress had puffed sleeves and a puffed skirt, with pink lace over the sleeves and red lace over the skirt.

“Why do we have a uniform?” she asked, frowning.

Steven blushed. “It’s not a uniform. It’s just a thing we do. Like a style. Sadie Killer and the Suspects are kinda … dark. So black. And we all wear pink and red because we’re in Pink’s Court. I … hope it fits. The Stars told me your measurements, but I forgot them, so I sort of … eyeballed it."

Going blank and blushing, she stared at Steven. “From seeing me?” she guessed and breathed out. “No big deal. That was—”

“I pick you up a lot.” Steven corrected.

She froze, unsure of what to say. After several awkward seconds, she managed to mutter: “I have to change.”

“If you go around the corner there’s a little space,” Steven said. He was hiding behind his hair again.

She rounded the rock and found there was a little kiddy corner where she could get dressed. Her harness she ended up putting right up against her skin then she put the dress on over it. The dress fit perfectly. It was even a bit fitted. She needed to stop letting Steven pick her up. Pulling a mirror from her gem, she looked at herself.

It wasn’t bad. She looked nice in black. She had always looked nice in dark colors. With a smile, she stuck her hand out as if she would shake her reflection’s hand.

“Connie Maheswaran, ready for action.”

 

* * *

 

Once she was dressed, Connie returned to Steven. He was waiting for her by a rock formation, hood up, rocking back and forth on his shoes.

“I’m ready,” Connie said.

Steven turned and smiled at her, a blush on his face. “You look great! Does it fit?”

“Yea,” Connie muttered. “You have a good eye.”

“Thanks. We’re going to float to it. Stay mostly out of sight.”

“I suppose you have to,” Connie said as he offered Steven her hand.

Steven took Connie’s hand, then wrapped a hand around her waist. “Yea. Basically.” He jumped softly but launched them into the air at an angle. With practiced eased, Steven turned them around and took a single step off the top of the temple’s head and sent them flying towards the city.

“I can’t let too many people know about me. The only people who do are my friends Sadie and Lars, her band, and his crew. Other than that, I’m sort of a … cryptid.”

“A cryptid?” Connie said, watching Steven’s face.

He shrugged in midair as he stepped off the top of a tower. “I know people have seen me. A pink-cloaked figure darting around.”

“What about this concert?” Connie asked. “Won’t people … know who you are?”

Steven laughed. “Not really. Everyone has their gem covered and it’s pretty dark. Even if I get up on stage, I’m just an organic gem with no memorable features. When the Di … I mean, after I stop having to hide, people will remember they’ve seen me, but it won’t matter then.”

“Oh.” Connie wanted to say more but then were slowly drifting down behind a building.

“We’re here,” Steven said. After they touched the ground, he let her go and took off his cloak, tucking it behind some boxes.

Connie straightened her dress, then turned and saw that Steven was dressed completely different than normal. He was wearing a short black dress like Connie’s with ruffled pink and red skirt. The top had sheer straps that hugged his shoulders gently, and there was a pink diamond at his belly button. His hair was still up in its normal ponytail. Connie squealed non-the-less.

“We match!”

“Yea! I was hoping that’d be okay.” Steven blushed behind his bangs.

“It’s the best! You’re the best!” Connie threw her arms around Steven and squeezed. Then she let go and gestured toward the door. “Shall we, Steven?”

“We shall, Connie,” Steven said offering his arm.

 

* * *

 

 Connie’s only experience with musical gatherings were balls. Pink Diamond’s colonies had held balls for thousands of years. There were dozens of ball nights in each planet’s calendar. Connie had been to a quite a few before she’d come to New Homeworld.

Balls on the colonies were dazzling affairs. Held in bright, open ballrooms a ball night was the time for a gem to off their cut and earn the validation of their superiors and the envy of the subordinates. Each gem dressed to height of fashion for their rank, every gem from emeralds to peridots showing off the best their station had to offer. It was all about being the best of your type and promoting that the best you could.

Before Pink Diamond and White Diamond went into seclusion, Pink Diamond often traveled throughout her colonies, surprising and delighting her subjects with her presence. Her colonies never knew when she would appear, so being polished at every ball was of top importance. Now that Pink Diamond was gone, there was a new ball night on the anniversary of her going into seclusion. On New Homeworld the night fell on the fifteenth of the eighth month, in mere three months. That ball was the most dazzling of them all.

But as they walked into the venue for the concert, Connie realized this was nothing like a ball.

It was dark and cramped with gems that appeared to be little more than shadows in the gloom of the warehouse. What Connie could pick out in the dim lighting was that there were organic and natural gems mixed in the crowd. The profiles were unmistakable. When she followed the pale lines of lights upwards, she could also see that aquamarines were hovering around the beams above their heads, easy to identify even in the dark because of their tiny bodies and wings. But the aquamarines weren’t up there alone, some other gems were sitting on beams and they were impossible to guess the identity of. The gems that close for Connie to see the gloom were so close she couldn’t get a good look at them, but she saw they wore outfits of black, with red and pink accents like herself and Steven. And there wasn't a gem in sight. Gloves with pink palms and pink patches on the back of them, pink patches on chests, on stomachs, on thighs, on cheeks, on backs, every gem was covered by a pink diamond-shaped piece of cloth.

Connie found herself at a bar, where a slim organic gem in a black tank top smiled at her. Her eyes were covered by a visor, but she had a pink eye patch in the shape of a diamond over her left eye.

“Get you something to drink?” the unknown eyeball gem asked.

Connie cleared her throat. “Um …”

Suddenly Steven leaned into her. Connie had practically forgotten they had their arms linked. “How about some sodas?”

“I …” Connie leaned in. “My wallet is … unavailable.” She meant it was in her gem but didn’t know how to say that without telling everyone within earshot that she was a pearl. Connie wasn’t sure it was uncouth to reveal your gem type even by accident.

“Don’t worry, Connie,” Steven laughed. “I’ve got it.” He turned to the bartender. “Two sodas please.” Then he reached his free hand into the top of his dress and fish out a small wallet.

“Where did that come from?” Connie asked.

Steven laughed. “I’ve got a few tricks,” he said. “Secret tricks. I can teach them to you.” He unhooked his arms from Connie’s and paid.

“I can carry that,” Connie said when Steven moved to return his wallet to his dress.

Steven gave her a sad look.

“What? I have more padding to keep it still than you do.” Connie smiled a pearl-like smile as he plucked the wallet from Steven’s fingers and tucked it securely in the front of her dress.

 

* * *

 

They talked a little at the bar, about the venue - a typical one for Sadie Killer and the Suspects- and the fact that Steven had a surprise for Connie. Connie pushed at him for details, but he sipped his soda and smiled innocently. After Connie gave up on it, Steven asked if she ever heard a Sadie Killer song. Connie shrugged.

“I have no idea. I’ve listened to a bunch of New Homeworld music. I haven’t really been paying attention to it. I just play it in the background while I train. And back home, I listened to music a lot, but mostly local artists.”

"I see," Steven nudged her. "Well, maybe you'll like them. They sing my favorite song. I hope they open with it." Gulping down the last of his soda, Steven stepped away from the bar. "Let's push our way up front."

Connie turned her head towards the stage. There was already a crowd in front of it.

“I don’t think we can,” Connie muttered above the noise.

Steven simply took her arm and pulled her away from the bar and into the crowd. Connie would have preferred not to shove her way through the tangle of bodies, but Steven put his left arm up in front of them and walked forward, parting the crowd like walking through a field a grass. Connie kept her head down. She wasn’t sure how the other gems were going to take Steven’s pushing, but she decided not to find out.

Eventually, Steven stopped and put an arm around Connie, and Connie felt safe to look up. They were right up front, so close to stage that when the band came out, they might be able to touch them.

“This is great,” Connie said.

“Anything for you, Connie,” Steven said, squeezing her.

Connie flushed. She knew they were supposed to be only themselves, but Steven was still her quartz and it made her so happy that he loved her. They stood together for several minutes, until the dim lighting in the warehouse, turned to pitch-blackness.

Steven squeezed Connie to his side as a curtain fell from the ceiling. Then lights flooded the stage and there was a roar from the crowd. After a few seconds, a couple of stray, drawn-out notes floated out over the crowd. The curtain parted to reveal three organic gems on stage. They wore black bodysuits that looked strangely familiar to Connie but were dressed up with sparkling jackets, fingerless white gloves, white collared shirts, and black ties. They all had red sneakers on. Their harnesses were made of gold chains, but their gems were covered with patches of pink cloth. As the crowd roared again, Connie noticed a shadow above them and looked up.

Above the stage was a huge, gem sized box hanging in mid-air. As it lowered from the ceiling, Connie recognized it as an incinerator, the small box organic gem’s bodies went into after they died and had given their last rights. After it was closed, it burned the body and the ashes were sent to fertilize natural gem kindergartens. Squeezing Steven's arm, Connie felt a little faint. The low haunting notes wove themselves together as the incinerator set down and then the melody picked up. The incinerator door swung up, and inside a young gem shrouded in white clothes and multi-colored sparkling dust. The dust coated her blonde hair, her make-up whitened face, and her clothes. It was unmistakable, it was supposed to shattered gems, which were ground up to power-up the gems of organic gems and used to fertilize the food production grounds that made food for organic gem kindergartens with baby gems and new mothers. All the death imagery made Connie dizzy. Steven squeezed her to him.

"This is it!" he said. On stage, the blonde gem looked from side to side, as if confused. Her band-mates stared forward, oblivious to her.

The blonde - who Connie assumed had to be Sadie Killer herself - stepped up to microphone. “I used to be sick. Sick and tired,” she sang.

Steven suddenly let go of Connie but did take her arm. “Delirious, dizzy, terrified,” Steven sang loudly. The crowd was singing along as well, but Connie could mostly hear Steven.

“But I’m suddenly up and out of bed,” all the voices sang together. “You’d never believe I was almost …” The music picked up and Connie felt Steven jump and squeeze her arm so hard it was uncomfortable.

“Why can’t you see me?!” Steven yelled in her ear. “Why can’t you see me?! I think I might be a g-g-g-ghost!” Steven swung into Connie and hugged her arm.

On stage, Sadie gave a build shaking roar, similar to a quartz solider on the battlefield. Ohh, ohhhh! Can’t you see that I exist?!”

“And I don’t need a black onyx to let me out!” Steven sang, jumping up and down. “Look at me and I’ll appear. Why can’t you see that I’m right here? That I’m right here?”

Two things hit Connie at once. First was Sadie Killer’s band were dressed as fancy onyxes - more death imagery - and two that she’d heard Steven ask almost that exact question on their trip to Yellow Diamond’s former base. With a sudden understanding of why he loved his song so much, Connie squeezed him back and watched him.

"Why can't you see me?" Steven sang with Sadie and the crowd. "Why can't you see me? I think I might be a g-g-g-ghost." Steven looked up as the music died down.

Connie followed his gazed to find Sade Killer rising from her incinerator in a plume of ash and smoke.

“I’m calling you from the other side …” she said as the music faded out.

The crowd irrupted in roars and curtains closed on the Suspects finally noticing Sadie and staring up at her floating body. Connie was almost too shocked to applaud. She’d never seen anything like that before. Steven nudged her.

“Wasn’t that great?!” he asked.

“Yea,” Connie said. “It was intense.”

"I know. It makes you feel something. Like you know when you get that feeling like something is squirming around in your guts and you just want to do something about it?"

Connie did not.

“Or,” Steven went on, excitedly, “that feeling when you’re standing perfectly still and you’re smiling but you’re screaming your head off, but you’re not showing it!”

Eyes widening, Connie's mouth opened. "I thought I was the only one who did that."

“No. Whenever I have to listen to … my aunts. They just drive me crazy. I want to scream at them, but I promised to be nice. Besides I’m the baby so… I just want to them to see that I’m not—”

The music started up and again and the crowd roared. Steven looked at the stage briefly then back at Connie. He squeezed her arm, which he’d never let go of, and smiled. They would finish this later.

The next song was less intense and was a self-titled song that introduced the band to the crowd. Connie found she was much more comfortable with this song. Then the lights went down again, and a low haunting melody began to play over the crowd screaming. Connie realized that she’d heard this song before.

“Steven!” Connie yelled. “I know this. It played on Centruri!”

“Really? Do you like it?” Steven asked excitedly.

“Tired from work!” Connie shout-sung with the band. “Hate my job. I really ought to be in mourning. But I’ve another shift this morning.”

The whole crowd was chanting the song. Less singing and more saying like a mantra. “Every day seems like it's never-ending. What's the point of this time I'm spending here at this dead-end job?!”

Connie grabbed Steven’s neck with her free hand and pressed her mouth to his ear. “This was practically the anthem for my class!”

Steven laughed and moved his arm from around Connie’s arm to around her waist. “Figures for a bunch pearls-in-training,” he said in her ear.

“Look at you. You seem so bright and healthy,” Steven sang pressing his forehead to Connie’s.

“And your eyes and full of joy and wonder,” Connie sang back.

“Stay a thousand miles from the condition that I’ve got from all the stress I’m under!” they sang together. Steven’s arm around Connie’s waist and Connie’s arm around Steven’s shoulders. “Don’t come near me or you might encourage all these terrifying sudden urges!”

They stayed like that for the rest of the song, at the end of which, Steven lifted Connie onto his shoulder for her to clap and wave at the band. When Connie was back on the ground they stayed linked together for the rest of the show, Steven singing to her most of the time, and Connie joining when she knew the words. After the band did a tribute song a singer call Mr. Universe, they announced they would be doing a special song that would take a few minutes to set up and curtain closed.

“Connie,” Steven said. “Stay right here. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“Now?” Connie said in disbelief. “But the show!”

Steven kissed her hand and smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ve been planning this for weeks. Promise me you won’t go anywhere.”

Connie frowned, but Steven was still her quartz. “I promise.”

“Great! I’ll just …” Steven paused, looked at her, seemed to be about to say something, but ultimately turned and rushed away.

 

* * *

 

For a few minutes, Connie waited in the crowd. It felt small and vulnerable without Steven. If she was anywhere else, she’d be a pearl of the Pink Stars. Who was she here? A random organic gem with no friends and no standing. There was something dangerous about being outside the system. Connie had never accomplished anything outside her gem type and rank. What did she have to offer as just herself?

Luckily, she didn’t have long to dwell on such awful thoughts. The lights went down again and the sound a guitar ripped through the air. Connie looked for Steven as the curtains rolled back, but he was nowhere to be seen. Sadie Killer appeared on stage smiling.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you," she said. "Thank you for gracing me with your presence."

Connie looked up. That was a funny thing to said. Something you’d say to a high-ranking quartz or even a Diamond. She scanned the stage and along with Sadie and her usual band, there was a drummer, obscured by poor lighting but still close enough to the front of the stage to a visible. An organic gem with a microphone. They sang along with Sadie.

"Good afternoon Ma'am. What can I do, Ma'am? Just say the word, Ma'am. Anything for you Ma'am."

Connie smiled and made an effort to dancing a little. The song seemed to be from the perspective of pearl.

“Your friends all say, Ma’am. You don’t deserve me. I disagree, Ma’am. I live to serve, Ma’am!”

Connie laughed out loud and danced. Every pearl knew that line. That pearl-like line of pretending to be simpler, more loyal, more naive than you were.

"I think about all the wasted time I've spent! I wanna be disobedient! I stood awake wondering where my summers went. I wanna be disobedient. Disobedient. Disobedient."

Wondering where Steven was and wishing he was there to hear this, Connie continued to dance. The song went on that she’d been good, so very, very good, but for what? Connie wondered, what was she being so good for? What was the point of a rose quartz having a pearl? Had Steven’s mother had a pearl? Couldn’t he just use her, then? Why a new one? What was so special about the former rose quartz that she’d been allowed - or forced - to have a half-organic child, anyway?

She’d given Steven everything single thing she’d had, the song reminded her. And it was strange (man), this whole arrangement. Connie felt as if she’d been cutting Steven too much slack because she liked him. But the truth was, had said in the beginning that he was a liar. Maybe she just let herself forget that. And she was going to end up totally deranged.

"When I think about all the wasted time I've spent! I wanna be disobedient! I stood awake wondering where my summers went. I wanna be disobedient. Disobedient. Disobedient." Sadie sang with the hidden drummer before the broke into a bridge.

Then suddenly the drums stopped, and drummer stood up and took mic into the light. Connie gasped.

He had his hair down now so that his curls covered his shoulders, and someone had done something with his bangs, but it was Steven. Connie could see him moving his head from side to side, searching the crowd for something as he brought the microphone up to his lips.

“I want to be disobedient,” Steven sang in his clear cool voice. “I want to be—”

He jumped off the stage. The crowd gasped and cheered. The few people in front of Connie moved, but Connie was frozen in place. Steven found her, and as he and his spotlight closed the distance between them, she wasn't sure if it was him, or the light, or herself that was making her warm.

“Disobedient,” Steven sang deliberately as if trying to tell her something important. “Disobedient. Disobedient. Disobedient.”

The last notes of the song strummed through the air and faded into nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure to Kudos if you haven't and sent me a comment.  
> And don't forgot to check out the blog to ask questions and request drabbles! https://his-knight-connie.tumblr.com/  
> If you head over there now there's a sneak peak at the rest of story.  
> Lastly here's one more treat for you guys: a recoloring of the Pink Pearl Illustration with story canon colors-  
> 


	9. Off Colors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie gets introduced to Steven's friends.

Long after Steven was gone and the band had said its good-nights, Connie was staring at where Steven had been, processing. When she finally shook herself out of it, she found the crowd had thinned. Gems were at the bar, getting drinks, and listening to the music being played through the speakers, dancing. She wasn’t the only one still up near the stage, but she felt alone.

Slowly she wandered back toward the bar and thought about ordering herself a drink. However, as she approached the bar, a few gems started looking at her and talking excitedly. She smiled at them and turned quickly to head for the door. Her footsteps picked up as she moved across the warehouse until she burst out into the sunlight and rounded the corner into the alley where she and Steven had come down.

Pausing to catch her breath, Connie leaned against some boxes. This wasn’t fun. With Steven it was fun. But she wasn’t with Steven; she was alone and unsure. Almost by instinct, Connie looked around the boxes to find Steven’s cloak. Smiling at it, she picked it up and shook it out of the ball it’d been wrapped it. Though she knew she probably shouldn’t, she put it around her shoulders and sat down behind the boxes.

The pink and white cloak was too big on her but soft and broken in. Connie pulled the hood up. She was instantly comfortable and could have closed her eyes and gone to sleep there behind the boxes if not for someone tapping her on the head.

“Con-con? Is that you?” a familiar voice asked.

Connie looked up to find Amethyst standing over her. She gasped and pulled off the hood.

“Amethyst! I don’t—”

“Shh! Quiet!” Amethyst said, then looked around. “It’s Axelle around here.” Amethyst tapped the pink diamond-shaped patch now on her black shirt. In fact, she was wearing a black shirt with sheer red lace over it and black leggings with pink lace forming glittering star formation along the legs.  “I’m not even supposed to be here.”

Connie frowned. “What?”

“Steven and I are supposed to be a trip to a colony,” Amethyst sighed and slumped her shoulders.

“Steven?” Connie whispered in disbelief.

Amethyst straightened up and put her hands on her hips. “Uh, yea. Does he really think he can hide anything from me? We’ve only been best friends since he was born.”

“So when he gave me cheeseburger backpack?” Connie began.

“Oh, I didn’t know then,” Amethyst said. “But when he asked us to leave you in the Tower to recover, I knew it. You weren’t that injured. Come on. He’s probably looking for you. I wasn’t going to bother you guys, but I saw him, saw you run out, then he ran out after you.”

“Oh, my stars!” Connie said getting up and pulling off the cloak.

“No worries, We’ll go find him. And remember. I’m Axelle. And do not tell Garnet and Pearl about this.”

“I would never!” Connie yelped. “But … Why Axelle?”

Amethyst shrugged. “My whole Facet has A-X names. I’m Axelle. 8XG is Axena. 8XJ is Axandra. 8XL is Axia.”

“Weird,” Connie muttered as they started walking.

“I know,” Amethyst said. “So what has Steven told you about everything?”

“I don’t know,” Connie sighed. “I don’t think much. I think he’s lying to me about a lot.”

Like about how he can ask the Pink Stars to do something and they do it, Connie thought.

“Probably,” Amethyst muttered with a frowned. “This whole thing. I think it’s just … so not our business. It’s above our gem type you know? I know Steven, being you know…” Amethyst trailed off.

Connie pressed her back teeth together, then decided to throw Amethyst a lifeline. “A hybrid,” she softly.

Amethyst opened the door to the warehouse and nodded. “I know he’s a big deal, but he’s just a dude. He was just a kid when had to deal with a lot of this. And his aunts are crazy.”

Connie nodded as if she knew the identity of these now twice mentioned aunts.

“I wish we could all forget this stuff. Like why does it have to be a big secret anyway? His mom never kept secrets.”

“Rose Quartz?” Connie asked.

Amethyst looked at Connie, then looked away. “Maybe you should be talking to Steven about this,” she muttered.

Connie unfocused her eyes to keep looking at Amethyst, but in doing so, looked past her to see a frantic Steven in the distance.

Steven had his hair up again and someone had loaned him a black jacket to put over his dress. He looked nice.

“Steven!” Connie called and stepped around Amethyst. She waved her hand overhead and smiled.

Turning, Steven saw her and called back. Faster then he should have, he crossed the distance and grabbed her, swinging her up in the air.

“Oh, my stars!” Steven said. “I lost you! I thought you’d gone home for a second!”

“No. I’m fine!”

They hugged for a second, before Amethyst’s laughing was too loud to ignore. Steven looked over and blushed.

“Axelle! What are you doing here?” Steven whispered angrily.

Amethyst put one arm over each of them and leaned in close. “No wonder you guys almost fused. I’ve seen Ruby and Sapphire fuse while doing that.”

Connie blushed and glanced at Steven to see him doing the same.

“Axelle! That was secret,” Steven hissed.

“Whatever,” Amethyst said. “Are we headed backstage or what?”

“Oh. Well, yea. If Connie is up for it.” Steven looked at Connie questioningly.

While going to another new place with more new rules was the last thing Connie wanted, she didn’t want to ruin Steven and Amethyst’s day, so she nodded.

“Let’s go,” she said.

 

* * *

 

Backstage was just another room is the warehouse. Connie could still hear the music from the party in the main room. Inside the smaller the room was the band, lounging on old furniture playing around with what looked like an older set of their instrument idly. Sadie and her band already weren’t alone when she, Steven, and Amethyst showed up.

While Steven ushered them in and shut the door behind them, Connie noticed a group of eight other gems, all in the same black uniform with a pink diamond on it, their gems shiny and on display. Despite showing their rank they weren’t typical gems. There were seven natural gems and one gem Connie guessed was organic. Of the natural gems, there were two cross-gem fusions, some sort of orange sapphire that Connie couldn’t name, and one pair of rutile quartzes fused at the gem. Connie wasn’t sure who was odder, the average emerald who more comfortable here with hybrids and overcooked amethysts, and whatever Sadie and her band were than Connie herself was, or whatever the hell the pink organic gem was. His gem was on his shoulder and he was a fluorite, but he was pink and had a huge scar over his right eye. He and Sadie were sharing an over-sized chair.

“You okay?” Amethyst whispered. “You look like you’re going faint.”

“There are just …” Connie struggling to find a reason for her distress. “Too many people.”

“Hey guys,” Steven said, slipping an arm over Connie's shoulders.

“Hey,” one of the band, a gem with sunglass said. “Steven, your friend is cool. Like an onyx’s pearl.”

The group gasped.

“Buck!” The dark-skinned gem said. “That is so not cool! I’m sorry, girl. Buck is a padparadscha,” she bit. “So he can’t being observant.”

“Oh no!” the little orange sapphire gasped. “Buck is going to tell everyone the gem type of Steven’s new friend!”

The fused rutile quartzes laughed and one of them patted the sapphire’s head.

“No worries, Paddy.” The right rutile said. “We might as well know.”

Steven hugged Connie tighter. “Guys this is Connie. She is a pearl, with the Pink Stars.”

“With the Pink Stars?!” the emerald said. “Interesting. What do they want with you?”

“I … that’s classified.” Connie hoped that she was allowed to say that.

“Hmph. I’ll bet.” Emerald smiled. “I’ll bet you’re for Pink Diamond. I’ll bet she’s on her way back. Mark my words.”

“There is no way you can know that,” the dark-skinned gem said rolling her eyes.

“Guys, guys. Let’s introduce ourselves,” Sadie said in a cheery, raised voice. “Sit down. I’m Sadie. Flourite Facet BRG Cut SD. This is my best friend and partner Lars Flourite Facet BRG Cut LRM.”

“Hey, Connie,” Lars said with a wave of his gloved hand.

Hi,” Connie said. She, Steven, and Amethyst had sat down on some crates covered in cushions. “Cut LRM?”

Sadie giggled. “His cut is supposed to spell out to Laramie. Anyway, that’s Jenny and Sour Cream, both of them Amertrines. Jenny is Facet PZA Cut XJY and Sour Cream is Facet ONN Cut MRY”

Connie frowned. “Cut MRY?”

“It’s a long story,” Steven whispered in Connie’s ear. “Don’t ask. Too messy.”

“And,” Sadie finished, “you already know Buck, Padparadscha Facet DWY Cut BCK.”

“And then there’s my crew,” Lars said standing up, his cape sweeping the floor behind him.

“We’re the Off Colors,” Lars shouted. “The flagship of Pink Diamond’s new elite star force. You already know me, Captain Lars of the Stars, a humble fluorite from New Homeworld. Then my indispensable co-captain Emie, the most shining Emerald to ever take flight.”

Emie laughed and dropped down from her perch. “Oh, Lars. You’re too right. But where would we be without our crew! The amazing, the many, the one-of-kind Fluorite!”

“We call her Fluo,” Lars said.

The large fusion of six gems slowly raised herself and took a bow. “Thank. … You. … All. …”

“Thank you, Fluo," Lars said. “Our pilots, the Rutile Twins! Joan who’s left-handed, and Grace who’s right-handed.”

“Thank you, yes.” The Joan said.

“Yes, thank you,” Grace followed.

“Next our Strategics Officer!” Emie said. “The fantastic Rhodonite, Rodnie.”

“Oh. Me? Yea. Thanks, Captains.” Rodnie twisted her hands and smiled.

Connie nodded and said. “You’ve got pearl in you, huh?”

Rodnie blushed. “Pearl and Ruby.”

“I thought so.”

Steven laughed and used his free hand to push Connie’s hair back. “You’re a fusion expert,” he said.

“I know another pearl when I see one,” Connie said. “And you,” she said looking at a little gem, “are Padparadscha.”

“We called her Paddy,” Lars said. “She’s our technical adviser. Natural padparadschas can make present predictions. They can tell you anything that already happened, even if you can’t see it or don’t know it’s happened. So since Paddy is never wrong, we can just ask her what’s just happened somewhere we can see and base what we do on that.”

“Organic Padparadschas,” Jenny continued, “are sort of the same. They’re like, super observant and can see things you miss. Not future vision exactly, but like natural talent to be observant and insightful.”

“That’s amazing!” Connie said.

“I know, right!” Sadie said. “When I ended up in a band with these guys, I was knocked for such a loop!”

“How did your groups even come together?” Connie asked. “I mean, no offense but this is the craziest group I’ve ever been in a room with and I live in the Pink Stars base.”

The group chuckled. Then another soft laugh joined in.

“Connie is going to ask how we all became friends!” Paddy laughed. “Isn’t that hilarious?!”

“Sure is, Paddy!” Rodnie chuckled behind her hand, obviously trying to bite back her laughter.

“Hey,” Buck said. “Pour you a drink? We’re having whiskey and soda.”

“Oh! Well, just half the whiskey,” Connie said.

“Cool!” Sour cream said. “Now we have someone to give the other half of Steven’s whiskey to.”

 

* * *

 

Soon they were settled in with their drinks. Connie shared a crate with Steven. There was plenty of room for the two of them. Amethyst had the same sized crate to herself and her was laying on her side, propped up on her elbow. Still, Steven had his arm thrown around Connie’s shoulders so that she had to lean into him and wrap an arm around his waist to be comfortable. She thought the others would stare but all of them were lounging all over each other too.

Sadie took a long sip of her drink, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and sat forward.

“So, it started like this. We were all pretty standard at first. We tried to be pretty standard. But some of us were better at it than others.”

Sadie nodded at Emerald. “Emie was a starship captain. She led a fleet in Yellow Diamond’s army.”

Connie looked at Emerald, lounging up high, sipping whiskey and coke. She didn’t look like a part of Yellow Diamond’s court.

“Lars and I were typical fluorites,” Sadie went on. “We worked at a place called the Big Donut.”

“That place with the giant pastry on it?” Connie asked?

“Yea! Do you not know what a donut is?”

“I’m from a colony,” Connie said. “Donuts never made it out there.”

“Wow,” Jenny cut in. “You’re like, really from a colony? I’ve never been off New Homeworld. Not even to visit the Moon Palace.”

“No one's allowed there now that Pink Diamond is in seclusion,” Lars said. “But she does come out sometimes.”

“Hold on you guys,” Sadie said. “We’re getting ahead of ourselves!” Sadie looked at Connie. “Sorry about that. Where was I? Right. Emie was a fleet captain. Lars and I worked in foodservice. Jenny and Sour Cream were in training to do music for balls and stuff. Buck was training with the sapphires to work in some elite gem’s service. All normal. But then there were the original Off Colors. The ones that couldn’t help being themselves.” Sadie grinning.

Connie found herself leaning in to listen, despite Steven’s arm tightening around her.

“Paddy was employed to see the future, obviously. But she sees the present. Instead of putting her use, they abandoned her.” Sadie shook her head. “Joan and Grace were born as conjoined twins. The only ones on Homeworld. They were left behind by the other rutile quartzes, who were scared of them. Rodnie was replaced by her Morganite for daring to exist as herself, as a fusion. And Fluo like Lars and me, but has six components to make her a fluorite. They were together on Homeworld for thousands of years before they were eventually made into a crew by Emie and Lars.”

“But how?” Connie ask.

“It was all because of Pink Diamond,” Lars said sternly. He sat forward and put his elbows on his knees. “You know the planet in the Jade System that’s refusing to assimilate into gem-kind?”

“Yea,” Connie said. “I’m from the Jade System. They send wounded organic gems to my home for treatment in my mother’s hospital.”

The room gasped. Steven leaned forward and held her with both arms. Lars nodded seriously.

“They’re only the second planet to be assimilated into gem-kind. Right after us,” Lars said. “But they’re not like us. They aren’t like gems. They’re dangerous. And since the Jade System is right on the edge on Yellow Diamond’s territory, she decided to handle.”

“Rumors are,” Emerald said, “that when Pink Diamond went into seclusion, Yellow Diamond wanted to do something for her, something to show there were no hard feelings. So she ordered the colonization of the planet in Jade System, to show she could colonize a planet in Pink Diamond’s way. Only she found intelligent organic life. So she thought she assimilate them.”

“But they started fighting back,” Connie guessed. “And only Pink Diamond has the power to bring gem and organic life together.”

“Exactly,” Lars said. “The organic life there lashed out, stole a ship, and came here.”

“Here!” Connie whispered harshly. “To New Homeworld?”

“Yes. They managed to reach the ground but were attacked when they entered the city. The Pink Stars lead the troops against them, but they fled back to their stolen ship and managed to take hostages with them.”

Sadie took Lars’ hand and continued.

“The Pink Stars mounted a rescue mission. That’s when Pink Diamond interfered. As the ship tried to take off, a huge pink shield appeared above it, holding it down. That gave the Pink Stars time to fuse into their ultimate form, Alexandrite. Alexandrite wrenched the door open and pulled out the hostages. But then … then Pink Diamond shield broke! The ship lifted off! And disappeared into the sky with one hostage still on it!”

Connie frowned. “It was you, Lars.”

Lars swallowed. “Yea. I wasn’t … pink back then. That came later. The ship’s controls were all wonky. They were only able to auto-set it to Homeworld. On the way, they started shooting at other Gem ships. Eventually, we caught the attention of Emerald.”

“Hmph,” Emerald said, uncrossing and recrossing her boot-clad legs. “I didn’t think much of you organic gems. Or any off-colors. But was proved wrong. If not for my crew, my friends, I wouldn’t be here today.”

She took a sip of whiskey and coke.

“I was leading a fleet for Yellow Diamond when the organics from the Jade System started cutting a path from New Homeworld to Homeworld. They would pop into warp and disappear for a while, then drop out of it and wreak havoc, before starting the cycle again. I was in charge of chasing them down. We knew the path they were taking, but not when or where they’d drop out of wrap. Finally, just once I caught up to them, but I was overconfident. They outgunned my ship. They boarded us. There was no mercy in them. These organics didn’t dissipate our forms; they used improvised blunt force weapons and went right for our gems. I was the last one on the bridge, fighting with my cutlass against three of them. I knew that was it. Until … I heard a roar, like some wounded creature’s last cry in battle. It was Lars, brandishing one of their weapons from their fallen, coming right at them. He fell two of them before they could react! Finally, hope! But the third knew better than to face two armed enemies at once. Instead of turning his back on me, he ran straight for me, aiming for my gem! I felt the cold metal hit my face and felt my gem crack. Everything went black. And next thing I remember, I was on a small ship rushing towards Homeworld.”

Lars was smiling and shaking his head. “I had tackled the last guy, making him fall before he hit her properly. Her gem was cracked, but not broken.”

Connie let go of a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.

“I brought her gem back to the stolen ship,” Lars said. “And we headed for Homeworld where I hoped we could get some help. I was sort of freaking out because I had … killed, or at least gave serious head trauma to those guys.”

Sadie nudged him. “How I some lighter stuff for a minute?” She looked at Connie. “While was going on in space, on New Homeworld we were all pretty much freaking out about Lars being missing. Steven started hanging around with us around that time, but his mom worked for Pink Diamond until she died and he has to as well, so his whole back story is hush-hush until Pink Diamond comes out of seclusion. But you’re a Pink Star so you probably know more about that than we do.”

Connie smiled and shrugged, and was pleased that her non-answer seemed to satisfy the group.

“Steven, Jenny, Buck, and Sour Cream started jamming together, and I just worked myself to exhaustion to stop thinking about Lars. Well, one day they asked me to jam with them, and I kind of became their front gem. Steven eventually dropped out of the band when he got more work to do and we started doing shows. We even got an official permit to do big venue shows. And I was listed as the front gem. Me, a fluorite.”

“We literally have no idea how it happened,” Jenny said. “But we know it agates around here back off. Especially Kevin.”

“Ugh, That agate with the fancy transport?” Emie groaned. “This isn’t even his patrol area. I could talk to him.”

“Don’t bother,” Buck said. “Kevin just wanted to accidentally get to meet Pink Diamond. He only hounds us because of that. Especially since—”

“Don't tell her yet!” Sadie said. “Lars, tell the rest of the story.”

“This is where we come in!” Rodnie said.

“I can’t wait, oh my stars!” Grace said.

“Oh my stars, I can’t wait!” Joan added.

Lars laughed. “Right. So there we were. Just me and Emie. Emie’s got a cracked gem. I can’t summon a gem weapon yet. We’re all alone and we’ve crashed in the depths on Homeworld. And unfortunately, there are bands of roving shattering robonoids everywhere down there. We’re trying to find a way to surface to find Emie help, but we find the shattering robonoids first!”

“Oh!” Paddy said. “He going to tell them our story!” She climbed up on Rodnie’s lap and said down.

“I sure am! Because just when I think it is the end, that when they show up! The Rutile Twins attacked the robonoids with a rock, while Fluo wraps her whole body around us and protects us from the scanner. The robonoid gets confused and wanders off!”

“All right!” Connie said. “That’s amazing!”

“It’s … nothing … sweetie,” Fluo said.

“Yea,” Rodnie added. “We’d been dodging those things for ages!”

“Since we finally have a moment peace, I leave Emie with the Off Colors and go to find a way up to the surface.”

“Which was really a stupid idea,” Emie muttered. “We should have stuck together. I know I was fading in and out. But he was barely able to fight. Joan and Grace were better able to fight than him. And better able to hide. They could have got and secretly lead someone back to us! But no, Lars in idiot. And I knew he’d get hurt. I so got up, despite being injured, and lead the Off Colors after him. We found him fighting a robonoid with a stick!”

“And who almost got shattered by it?” Lars asked?

“Who jumped on it and got thrown into a wall and died?!”

The room was silent. Lars smiled ruefully.

“Well … that was me.”

“You … died?” Connie whispered.

“See the scar?” Lars said. “I got smashed into a wall. I … didn’t feel anything. I must have hit it pretty hard.”

“His gem and face were both shattered,” Joan said.

“We’d never met an organic gem,” Grace said. “We didn’t know which one had made him stopped working.”

“Damn stupid organic gem,” Emie said. She sniffed. “The others were taking me away. I wanted to take his shards back to his home at least but … they were pulling me away, saying another robonoid would be there soon to check on the destroyed one. But as we left, there was a howl. We peeked around a corner and figure in a pink cloak and hood walked out of the shadows. The figure knelt next to Lars and held him, leaning down over his face. Then I realized the figure was crying. Suddenly Lars was pink and figured gently put him down and rushed away before Lars could open his eyes. We rushed over and Lars’ face and gem were healed, but he was pink. We heard a howl and then nothing.”

“Pink Diamond?” Connie asked.

“Yea,” Lars said. “She healed me. And I’m connected to her somehow. After that happened I was more like a natural gem, I didn’t need to eat or sleep. But when I did sleep, things would happen. One night in the caves, I convinced everyone to take a nap, and when we woke up, Emie was healed and there was map out of the caves and to a launch bay. When we got there, we were listed as a single crew with our own ship in Pink Diamond fleet.”

“We … even … had … orders.” Fluo said.

“To track down another stolen ship in the Jade Region and capture the organics of the colony planet that stole it,” Rodnie said.

“Ha! What a ride that was!” Emie said. “We really proved the cut of our gems chasing them down! Remember when my Sun Incinerator was given back to us from Yellow Diamond’s fleet?”

“We were amazing!” Joan said.

“They barely saw us coming!” added Grace.

“That’s how their space traveled was put to an ended. And at last, we were assigned to go home,” Lars said.

“Our new home,” Emie said with a grin.

“New Homeworld!” Paddy shouted.

“Where they landed on the beach right in the middle of our concert!” Sadie said. “We’d heard of the Off Color Leaders, the ragtag group rebellion fighting gems that almost single-handedly put an end to Jade System’s starship fleet. But hearing Lars was out there, a space captain, and seeing him with his crew was two different things.”

“Well hearing you were a galaxy famous rock star and seeing were two different things!”

“Aw. You guys are too cute together,” Jenny said.

“Yea,” Amethyst muttered. “Gross. Anyway, we gotta get back. Pink Star stuff and all.”

A few groans went up, but Steven, Connie, and Amethyst said their goodbyes and headed out the door.

 

* * *

 

“You better head back to tower and fake up something for today,” Amethyst said to Steven.

“You’re being pretty responsible,” Steven muttered.

“Ah, well. That story just … reminded me of stuff.”

“Me too,” Steven said.

“You guys alright?” Connie asked.

They both sighed.

“Come Con-con. Let’s go. Later Steve-O.” Amethyst started walking slowly away, head down.

“Connie, I’ll call you,” Steven hugged her, tight and desperate somehow, then let go and walked away in the opposite direction as Amethyst.

With heavy steps, Connie followed Amethyst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Starlings. There were so many characters in this chapter so I'm sorry if your fav didn't get enough lines.  
> Remember to Kudos, Comment, and Check out the Blog to Send Asks and Request Drabbles.
> 
> https://his-knight-connie.tumblr.com/


	10. Giant Women

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie trains with Opal and Garnet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is late. I am sorry. Check out the blog for upcoming character sketches and little comics.
> 
> https://his-knight-connie.tumblr.com/

Connie must have gone over it a thousand times. More than that. She thought about it every time she went to bed, and every time she woke up. She about it while she was bathing, and while she was dressing. She thought about whenever her mind wasn’t occupied and sometimes when her mind was occupied. She’d cut through Amethyst during training because she’d been so focused on thinking about it. It had been awkward when Pearl had shrieked in joy before tending to Amethyst’s gem. Connie had been a little nauseous to have defeated Amethyst so soundly and was mostly sure she couldn’t do it again consciously, but soon went back to thinking. Of course, she thought about it when she talked to Steven.

Steven mostly called late at night, from under a pile of blankets if Connie sees correctly. He seemed like he was sulking. Connie didn’t know the details as to why he was sulking, but she desperately wanted to ask about it. She had ideas about what it was about.

Obviously, he was depressed about being Pink Diamond.

Connie had been right all along, that story Steven had told her after she’d been injured was a lie. Or at least some major details were lies. If Connie wanted to be kind, and she so desperately wanted to be kind to Steven, she could say that he’d simply changed some names to protect the people he loved. But Connie had been right. Steven was the son of Pink Diamond. The pink cloak, the pink shield, it was obvious. And Steven’s father was an ametrine, just like the organic ametrine that Pink Diamond was supposed to have favored. Connie had Amethyst when Steven’s birthday was, only to find it was the same day Pink Diamond went into reclusion. It was no wonder Steven never talked about himself. Doing so was inviting someone to figure it out.

But what Connie hadn’t known was that Pink Diamond was gone. She’d died making him and now he had her gem and had to take her place. Meaning his aunts were the other Diamonds, and the Moon Palace was his, and Pink Stars were his guard, and she was Pink Diamond’s personal Pearl.

She was obsessed with realization.

“Yo, Conster!” Amethyst’s voice reached Connie’s brain only a moment before Amethyst herself hip-checked her nearly to ground.

Barely, catching herself, Connie gasped and found Amethyst standing next to her smiling.

“Hi, Amethyst,” Connie muttered with a weak smile.

“What are you dazing out for?” Amethyst asked. “Pearl’s going to be here for your training any second now.”

“I know. What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be training with the quartzes today?”

“Not today!” Amethyst stuck out her tongue. “Special assignment, all Stars on deck” Amethyst leaned in. “I think your training is almost over!” she whispered excitedly. “I’m not sure why, but if your getting this lesson today, there must be a reason. You must be about to join the Pink Stars for real.”

“You think?” Connie shifted. “What’s the lesson?”

“Well—”

“Connie! Amethyst!” Pearl’s sing-song voice ran out over the Sky Arena. “We’re here. It’s time to start your training.”

Amethyst nudged Connie again. “Good luck!” she whispered with a wink and then walked towards Pearl, who was coming down the many steps of the Sky Arena with Garnet.

Connie tensed for a moment, then forced herself to relax. Garnet didn’t usually come to observe her training. However, Amethyst had said that it was all Stars on deck. With all three of the Pink Stars here to see her, it seemed too daunting a task to train. It had been 10 months since she’d come to New Homeworld and yet she felt her legs wobble.

“Connie,” Garnet said. “Today, we teach you the most important lesson of the Pink Stars.”

“That’s right!” Pearl sang. “The very pillar of Pink Diamond’s Court!”

Garnet looked at Connie serious and said, “Fusion.”

“Fusion,” Pearl went on, “is the ultimate bond between gems. Surely you’ve learned about it in school.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Connie said obediently. “Two or more gems synchronize their minds and the light waves that make up their physical bodies. This harmony creates a fusion. Before the rise of Pink Diamond’s Court fusion was only permitted between like gems and only under the guidance and with the permission of a higher level gem for a mission or battle.”

“Very good,” Pearl said.

“Yea, but after Pink Diamond,” Amethyst said, “everything was different. Cross-gem fusions were allowed because they made bigger strong more awesome gems! Like so. Pearl?”

“Oh!” Pearl laughed. “Well, we might as well get started. Shall we then?”

Pearl cleared her throat and spun around. Amethyst jumped and started dancing in place. Connie watched, delighted. She’d never seen a fusion form before. Sapphire and Ruby, she’d only ever heard about. She’d never even met them properly, let alone seen them form Garnet.

Pearl and Amethyst’s dancing styles were nothing alike as they started. However, as they took steps towards each other they began to merge. Pearl’s graceful, careful moves got quicker and added dramatic popping and locking to them, while Amethyst’s hyper and energetic dancing added long swooping movements and dizzying spins. When Amethyst lifted Pearl they both laughed and their laughter rolled and washing over Connie growing louder and larger until it was neither Pearl nor Amethyst’s voice at all.

Then there she was. A many-limbed, wide-hipped, big-haired giant woman. She was bigger than Garnet! Connie stood, smiling opened mouthed.

“Hello, Connie,” the beautiful woman said. “My name is Opal. I’ll be your teacher for today.”

“Hello, Ma’am!” Connie shouted, still grinning. This is what the Pink Court was. Garnet and Opal. Cross-gem fusions!

Connie felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked to find it was Garnet, smiling at her. “This is the power of harmony and love. Love for your partner and respect for the bond. This is what Pink Diamond’s Court is all about. Today we’re going to teach you about that power. You and I are going to be fighting Opal.”

“Really?”

Garnet nodded. “You’ll do fine. Just follow my lead.”

There was glow, and Connie turned to find that Opal had Pearl’s spear and Amethyst’s whip. She twirled them both in her four hands to combine them into a giant bow.

Connie pressed her back teeth together and smiled.

 

* * *

 

The training task had been simple, simpler than most of her training with Pearl, truth be told. Connie merely had to stay standing for an hour against Opal. It had been an easy instruction with a very difficult execution. Opal was quick, unnaturally so, like Amethyst. Connie would call her graceful like Pearl, but hardly ever saw her move to back up the claim. Opal was a gust of wind and a rainstorm of arrows. She was a hurricane of attacks swirling around Connie, threatening to topple her over.

Connie, at least, wasn’t totally helpless. Blocking attacks had been the first thing Pearl taught her. Opal rained down light-arrows on her, but most met Connie’s sword. Besides, Connie had Garnet’s future vision on her side. Garnet and Connie worked as a team, Garnet providing defense and tactics, while Connie fought her hardest. It was the longest hour of Connie’s life.

At some point, her mind had drifted to Steven. She had wondered what he was doing, and if he knew about her training if he designed it himself. Connie wondered if he could fuse. She knew she was the only one who couldn’t fuse, being organic, but knew they had begun to fuse on Yellow Diamond’s moon base. This thought had consumed her. She wasn’t sure when she had picked up a shield, but once it was in her hand, she couldn’t stop imagining what the fight would be like it was fair, truly fair. Opal against Steven and herself once they were fused. She had pretended that Steven was there beside her, inside her, moving with her limbs. Months of sparring and being in his arms had taught Connie his style of movement, how he blocked, how he dodged. She pretended to be someone else, someone stronger than herself. A fusion like Opal and Garnet.

When they went through, Garnet had praised her for her focus, her clarity. Clarity was high praise, especially for a Pearl. Opal had said she really saw her shine during the training, and that her shield work was surprisingly good.

Connie had blushed and had been tempted to ask about organic fusion, but had stopped herself.

She’d known the answer.

Now she was laying on her back on her bed. She was still in the same clothes, still had her shoes on. Connie needed to get up and shower but her bed was soft and comfortable. As she drifted deeper and deeper into black, Steven’s smiling face swam in the back of her eyelids.

Sad, Pearl, she thought to herself. Really sad.

She would have fallen asleep pitying her own deep crush on someone way out of her reach, but a loud bark next to her head made her sit straight up and summon her sword.

“What the hells?!” Connie shouted, wide awake and heart pounding. She had no idea what she thought she was going to find in her room, but an absolutely massive pink wolf was not on the list.

Connie stared.

It stared.

Connie glanced toward the door off to right. The wolf wasn’t blocking it, but it was directly in front of her, likely to grab her if he ran for the door. The window to the left had the same problem, and the wolf was even closer to that.

She could attempt to fight it. However, it was pink so … maybe it Steven’s. There had been the sound of barking in Lars' story right before and after Steven arrived.

“Hi there,” Connie said softly. “Hey. Do you belong to Steven?”

The wolf lay down on the floor and put his head on the bed.

“Okay. I’m going to pet you now.”

Things had gone from strange to stranger. She was talking to a wolf. But as she reached out it let her pet it between its eyes before it back up and sat down on the floor.

“What? What do you want?” Connie, assure she wasn’t going to be attacked, put away her sword and walked up to the wolf.

“Hey. What do you— oof!”

The wolf stood suddenly and hit her hard enough to flip her onto her stomach. She landed on its back and heard a loud bark. Connie barely had time to see the portal the bark opened up where her window should be before they jumped into it.

“Hey!” Connie shouted. “No, no, no! Bad wolf! Where are you taking me?!”

Thankfully it was a short trip and soon the landed in green pastures. However, the sudden stop made Connie fall off the animal and on her front-side on the ground.

“Hell! Thanks, wolf…”

“Wolf! Connie!” Steven’s worried voice called.

Connie looked up to find Steven running across the field toward her. He wearing a dark pink tank top and black jeans with his usual flip flops. Steven skidded to a stop beside her and picked her up.

“Connie are you okay? Did Wolf hurt you?”

“Its name is Wolf?”

“His name is Wolf. And yea… why?”

“And he teleports?”

“Well,” Steven said. “I don’t and sometimes I need a ride. Plus, I love him.”

Connie laughed. “You would say that about a cute animal.”

Steven blushed, then held out a note. “I, uh, wanted him to go get you. I had a note, but he left before I could give it to him.”

Sheepishly, Connie took the note and opened it. Read simply, “This is my wolf, Wolf. He’ll take you to me if you get on his back. -Steven”

“Make more sense than what happened,” Connie said, pocketing the note. “Where are we?”

“The farms for the Kindergarten Wards,” Steven said enthusiastically. “Don’t worry, I’m done for now,” he added see Connie’s face twist into a nervous mask. “I know you don't like handling dead bodies.”

“I can do it!” Connie insisted, maybe a little too loudly. “I just … I mean …”

“It’s okay.” Steven put his arms around her. “It’s fine. Come on, let’s walk.”

 

* * *

 

They walked around the farm, Steven’s arm around Connie's shoulders, and up into the surrounding hills. Steven talked about the workings of the farm, about how they were planning on shipping extra food and gem to create hybrid colonies on organic-habitable moon bases on the other Diamond’s old planets and make those gems part of the other Diamond’s court. It sounded nice, but the rebelling colony in the Jade System was simply killing off so many soldiers that they were overproducing food and new gems on Pink’s colonies. They needed to do something about that planet. They needed to be subdued.

“Can’t you do something?” Connie asked.

“Me?” Steven laughed. “What can do? I can’t do anything.”

They were at the top a hill, sitting side by side, watching Wolf idly chew on the tail of some lizard he’d found. Steven got up and walked a few paces down the hill.

“Everyone wants me to be something I’m not. To be … I don’t know.”

Connie smiled sympathetically. “To be perfect?” she asked, even though she knew the answer.

When Steven whirled around on the spot, eyes wide, she just shrugged.

“Yea,” Steven said in disbelief. “But I’m not,” he added, getting angry. “I’m not how they want me to be and I don’t know why. I do everything they ask but it’s not enough! Things aren’t getting better; they’re getting worse. My aunts say that I have a place but…”

But Steven wasn’t filling that place, wasn’t he? Connie thought Pink Diamond was in seclusion, one way or another, and the rebel planet in the Jade System was getting out of hand. The Pink Court needed a leader.

Steven clenched his fists and growled, tears forming in his eyes. “What the point of all this? Why am I bothering to do all this work if nothing is going to come of it?”

“So why not do something Steven?!” Connie said, leaning forward against her knees.

“What can I do?” Steven asked tearfully.

“Anything! You’re Pink Diamond, aren’t you?”

Steven paused. “I … what?”

“It was pretty easy to figure out. You should not have let Lars tell that story.”

Sniffing, Steven smiled at her. “Probably not. I thought … maybe you wouldn’t bring it up. I thought … maybe you wouldn’t see me anymore.”

Connie stood up and went to Steven. She took both his hands in hers. “I guessed you were Pink Diamond’s son from the start and it never affected how I saw you. And you don’t have to be like your Mom. No one can be like the Diamonds. Even them. If she was so perfect she would have found a way to have you without disappearing and leaving you with this burden.”

Steven laughed and wiped his eyes. “I don’t think we’re supposed to admit that out loud.”

“Well too bad!” Connie shouted. “You don’t have to be a Pink Diamond the way she way.  You can be a Pink Diamond the way you want to be, your version of what it means to be a leader! Your Mom was different from the other Diamonds. You can be different from her.”

Steven laughed again and let go of Connie’s hands. Backing up he tied the bottom of his shirt so that his gem showed. “Okay. Wanna see something cool?”

“Is it your Pink Diamond form?” Connie guessed.

“Why can never surprise you?!” Steven shouted.

“Because I pick the most amazing thing possible and that’s usually it,” Connie grinned. “So show me. Do you get huge?”

“Well! Not really … But watch anyway.”  Steven took a deep breath and seemed to relax.

Connie stared at him intensely, watching for any signs of change. But when it began, she knew it was happening. Steven glowed, starting from his gem, then spreading to the rest of his body. His gem was fully visible in the brightness. It truly was a diamond and looked almost too big for his body. Turned out he’d simply been hiding it by having the bottom of it facing out. Now it was rotating so that the flat side was pointing down and the side was facing out, showing that it was and he was a Diamond.

Steven stopped glowing and opened his eyes. Nothing had changed about him physically. He was still the same shape and size. But his hair, today tied up into a bun, was a pink was dark pink lowlights. His eyes were pink as well, with diamond-shaped pupils.

“So?” Steven asked sheepishly.

A slow grin spread across Connie’s face as she saluted. “My Diamond,” she said with real sincerity.

Closing the distance between them Steven put down her hands and hugged her. “My Pearl,” he said.

They hugged.

They hugged for what seemed like forever.

“You’re going to do great,” Connie said. “Just march up to the other Diamonds and say “I am Pink Diamond and I am going to rule my part of Authority!” They’ll have to listen. They can’t keep you away from your subjects.  You’ve got to be a leader, Steven.”

“You think?” Steven whispered.

“Yea.”

“And you’ll be with me?”

Backing up, Connie smiled at Steven. “Why would I ever be anywhere else, when you’re here?”

Steven nodded, then picked Connie up around the waist and began spinning her around.

“Steven! Ah! No!” Connie wriggled in an attempt to get loose and fly off, but Steven had too good a grip and she was laughing too much.

“I’ve got you, Connie!” Steven said, spinning faster, lifting off the ground.

They spun and spun, laughing and shouting until something happened. Connie felt it immediately because she’d never had a gem in her body before. It sat between her breasts like a stone that had suddenly been placed in her sternum. Contrary to making it hard to breathe, it made her warm. It made her flush and hot with power. Finally, she felt respected. Steven took an extra moment to realize that things were changing. The cool, relaxed aura that washed over was so foreign to him. He was unburdened by destiny. But once he felt he dove into it, embrace the feeling completely. Steven was brilliant in this state. He was the smartest person in the room but strangely ignored. Connie found herself to suddenly have the opposite problem, to have all eyes on her and have none of the answers they sought.

But they were a hard fact, the two of them, unswayed by the opinions of others. They were a ball of their own emotions. They shouldn’t be. They were a brand new thing that had always been in some form or another, in another world, at another time. They lived in a glorious contradiction to themselves!

_“Who are we?”_ Connie and Steven asked.

They were a song they were the tune to but not the words.

_“Who am I?”_ they asked. _“What’s this feeling?”_

_“Well, it could be…”_ Steven began.

_“It could be?”_ Connie asked.

_“It could deep friendship,”_ Steven said, thinking of Amethyst and Pearl.

_“No,”_ Connie said, thanking a chance. _“It could be…”_

_“What, you know what it could be?”_ Steven asked.

_“I think it could be loyalty,”_ Connie said, too scared.

_“So you know it could be…”_ Steven felt her nervousness.

_“… I don’t know. Could it be …?”_ Connie asked breathlessly.

_“I mean! Why couldn’t it be affection?!”_ Steven asked.

_“But isn’t it?”_ they said. _“Isn’t it? Isn’t it … love?”_

They blinked. They looked left, then right, then down. They decided down was the important part as they were several feet off the ground.

“Well,” they said. “I’d better get down. Steven how you … we … I? Get down?” They struggled for a moment before finally lowering to the ground. “Hell. That was hard.”

Wolf padded over, sniffed their hip which was where he now came up to and yawned.

“Good to see you, too,” the fusion said. They pet his head only to realize how dark their hand was. “Wow. My hand is dark. Like Connie. And my hair. Pink still.” They looked down. “Two gems. Oh, my stars! I have a gem now! And my hair is short and fluffy!”

“I’ll say! You look like Pink D!”

The fusion squeak and turned. Amethyst was sitting in a tree with a bag of burritos, watching.

“How long have you been there?!” the fusion asked.

“Just a few minutes,” Amethyst said. “I was going to check on Connie when I heard Wolf. So I had to find out where you went for the day and that took ages. And then I got hungry and had to stop for some burritos. So you two can fuse now?”

“Uh … I guess so,” the fusion said. “But I don’t have a name or anything.”

“So let’s take you Pearl. She’ll help.” Amethyst stuffed and burrito in her mouth.

“Won’t she be mad at me?” the fusion asked.

“Nah, she’ll be thrilled. Anyway, I’m not talking about Rayne. I’m talking about Lacie.”

“Oh!” the fusion said. “Wait. Who are they?”

“Gah,” Amethyst said. “New fusions. Come on. Ste — Con — Stecon — Stev — Hells! Come on!”

 

* * *

 

Pink Diamond’s Tower was only a place for Steven to grow up in on New Homeworld and be close to the Pink Stars. Pink Diamond, before her death, had lived in the reclaimed gem temple while on New Homeworld and had traveled the rest of the time. Like all Diamonds, the seat of her power away from Homeworld was her Moon Base which Connie had orbited briefly on her way to New Homeworld’s surface. They only way into the Moon Base was the warp pad in the Tower which was fairly simple to excess as currently they were Pink Diamond and were being escorted by a Pink Star.

The Moon Base was not a tiny control base like rotting one on Yellow Diamond’s moon. It was a sprawling palace under a clear doom with lush plants, running rivers, and tumbling waterfalls. The fusion looked around, explaining to themself that Steven’s Mom wanted organic gems to work at the Base and so she made it habitable for them.

“Stevenconnie!” Amethyst said from the arched doorway. “This way!”

The fusion groaned. “I need a name,” they muttered.

They followed Amethyst down endless hallways passing a scarce amount of guards which they explained to themself was because no was supposed to know the original Pink Diamond was gone just yet. Finally, they reached the private rooms of Pink Diamond.

“Yo, Pearl! Guess what happened!”

“What?” a voice like Pearl’s said.

“Steven fused!” Amethyst shouted.

“Oh, my stars! With who!”

A sound a running face could be heard on the polished floors then a pink, nearly flawless pearl came shooting out of a side room. She was dressed similarly to the other Pearl but in shades of pink, with a long flowing skirt.

“How many Pearls does Steven have?!” the fusion asked, then immediately answered themself. “Rayne and Lacie are Mom’s Pearls. I only have one. You.” The fusion blushed.

“This is Pink Diamond’s original Pearl,” Amethyst said. “But we can’t go calling every pearl she and Steven collect Pink Pearl. So we call Pink Pearl Lace Pearl, Lacey for short. Then there’s P, who’s Rainbow Pearl, Rayne for short. And Connie, who’s Aubridine Pearl.”

Amethyst turned to Pearl. “Pearl this is Stevenconnie. She’s … he’s … they’re? Hells. You figure it out! I got ‘em here!” Amethyst flopped down on a bed and sighed. Only to be shaken by something moving under her. She moved aside and a head with two pink heart-shaped buns popped up from under the blankets.

“Did a miss something?”

“Spinel,” Pearl said. “Steven learned to fuse!”

Spinel lifted her head and turned it around. Her neck was basically a rubber band.

The fusion waved. “Hi, Spinel. Steven can fuse now.”

A wicked smile spread over Spinel’s cartoonish face. “Is this Pearl your girlfriend now?”

“What?” the fusion said and barely held together.

“Spinel!” Pearl scolded.

Amethyst laughed. “Good one, El!”

Spinel jumped out of the bed. “Look at this! A new best friend! Every fusion is a new best friend!” She bowed. “A pleasure to meet you Stevonnie.”

“Stevonnie!” Pearl said. “Perfect. Good job, Spinel. Now for the gem type.”

“And the gender,” Amethyst huffed. “Organic gems have a gender.”

“I’m a they,” Stevonnie said, then suddenly realized, they weren’t sure of what they looked like under their clothes. Probably best to not mention that and figure it out later.

“They,” Pearl said. “Of course you would be. Obviously. But your gem type … Hmm. There have been Pink Diamond-Pearl fusions before.” She led Stevonnie to the side of the room towards a door.

“What?!” Stevonnie shouted. “Did she … did Mom?”

“Of course,” Pearl said throwing open the doors on what turned out to be a closet. “She loved fusion, why wouldn’t she fuse?”

“The gem temple,” Spinel said, “is modeled after one of her fusions! Once you can fuse with the Pink Stars you can create her.”

“Create who?” Stevonnie asked.

“Obsidian, duh,” Amethyst said. “But for now, who are you?”

“That’s right,” Pearl came from the closet with an armful of Pink clothes. “You have to know who you are before you can fuse anymore. These were some of her clothes. You look like you should fit them.”

“Oh! Okay.” Stevonnie began to undress. They thankfully found a leotard under their clothes.

Pearl continued. “Now Pink Diamond and I made Pink Quartz. And she and Rainbow Pearl made Rainbow Quartz. So you must be …”

“Raspberry Quartz,” Amethyst said. “Because of how dark their gems are.”

Pearl nodded sagely as she helped Stevonnie into their clothes. “Perfect. Raspberry Quartz. Call Garnet and Pearl, Amethyst. They’re going to want to see this.

 

* * *

 

Stevonnie ran from place to place in Pink Diamond’s old rooms. Their brand new outfit swirled around them. They felt absolutely at home here. Everything was made for someone just their size. And the pink and blush tones that colored the rooms matched their hair and bounced off their brown skin nicely. With a tap of their feet, Stevonnie launched themself up to the second floor of the apartment. They ran into the bedroom and flung back the curtains.

“Oh, my stars! Look at that bed! Pearl?! Can I jump on the bed?!”

“Go ahead!” Pearl called. “Do you like black?!”

“I LOVE black!” Stevonnie shouted over their shoulder as they ran toward the bed. They kicked off their shoes and jumped feet first into the blankets.

Even without using their ability to float the bed sent them flying up to the ceiling, where they kicked off the surface and sent themselves flying back down to the bed. After bouncing on the bed for a few minutes, Stevonnie stopped themself from falling back on the bed and slowly floated down to its surface.

“This is amazing,” Stevonnie said as they landing softly on the bed.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Stevonnie said, more Steven than Connie. “I’m so glad I’m not alone anymore.”

Stevonnie wrapped their arms around themself and smiled. It was warm in the bed and they could have drifted off and taken a little nap. They deserved it after all this excitement.

“My Quartz,” Pearl’s voice said. “They’re here! Garnet and Pearl have arrived!”

All thoughts of a nap forgotten, Stevonnie climbed out of bed. “Great! Let’s go!” They ran back to the balcony where they’d ascended to the second floor and jumped off it, floating down to the first floor.

“May I announce,” Lacey Pearl said from the second floor, “Their Most Lustrous Self, Our Wonderful Leader, Raspberry Quartz!”

Stevonnie grinned at Garnet and Rayne Pearl.

“Hey, guys!” they said. “I’m a fusion. Pretty cool, right?”

Amethyst laughed from her place on the bed, while Spinel practically vibrated in place with excitement.

“Steven fused with Connie!” Amethyst said. “Connie totally knows everything! And they’ve been friends for ages! And I knew before Garnet! I wasn’t that last to know!”

Garnet dissipated her visor with a swipe of her hand and smiled. “Well,” she said. “I did not see this coming.”

The room laughed.

“What’s your name, Raspberry Quartz?” Garnet asked.

“Stevonnie!” they answered.

“They’re a brand new friend!” Spinel said.

“And now we have something to do with Pink’s old clothes,” Lacey said as she took a place next to Stevonnie. “They fit them perfectly and they look so much like her in them! The other Diamonds will be so happy to meet Stevonnie! Won’t they, Pearl?”

“Will they, Pearl?” Stevonnie looked at the Rayne Pearl. “Pearl?”

Rayne Pearl stood where’d she’d been when Stevonnie had jumped down. She was just staring at them, not moving.

“Yo, P,” Amethyst called. You okay? “Lace, what’s up with your girl?”

“Pearl,” Lacey called softly. “Are you okay?”

Stevonnie frowned and marched up to Rayne Pearl. “Pearl what’s—!”

_POOF_

Rayne Pearl was gone.


	11. Your Diamond and Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie learns more about Pink Diamond.

POOF

Rayne Pearl was gone, her form dissipated leaving behind nothing but a misty cloud of shimmering smoke and a single pale gem. A gem that was falling towards the floor.

Stevonnie dove forward for Rayne's pearl, but a pair of gloved hands beat her to it. Skidding to a stop and landing on one knee, they looked over to find Spinel's arm stretched out from her place on the couch, all the way across the room so that her hands were under Rayne's pearl. Spinel looked devastated, though her arms were steady. Stevonnie breathed a sigh of relief, their whole body slumping slightly.

"Good catch, El!" Amethyst groaned, getting up from the sofa.

"Yea," Stevonnie muttered. "Good catch…"

Stevonnie rose to their feet as Garnet grabbed them around the waist and hauled them up, despite being shorter than them. They nodded their thanks and watched Lacey take Rayne's pearl from Spinel's hands and bring it to her cheek. Then instead of retracting her hands Spinel drooped sadly, climbed off the sofa and walked with Amethyst over to them. All of them gathered around Lacey and watched her.

"Rayne …" Lacey said softly. Leaning her face down to Rayne's pearl. "Garnet, what happened?"

Stevonnie looked over at Garnet, lost as well. It wasn't like Rayne to dissipate her form for no reason. She was hard to defeat in battle; neither Steven nor Connie had ever seen it. If she was more fragile than she seemed, even Steven had never seen her fall apart like this. Stevonnie was about to unfuse with worry.

Garnet shifted her visor, frowning, then addressed them. "Stars, don't worry. Rayne was just shocked is all. Stevonnie  was quite a surprise."

"But why?" Stevonnie said. "Steven can fuse, finally. Wasn't she proud?"

"Of course she was proud," Garnet said looking up at Stevonnie. "But—"

"Rayne was so close to Pink," Lacey cut in softly. "They were even closer than I was with her. They shared things that I still don't know about. Seeing you Stevonnie, when you look so much like her … it must have brought her back to last time she saw Pink."

"When … Steven's Mom died…" Stevonnie whispered in shock. They saw Amethyst and Spinel wince.

"Rayne was close to Pink," Garnet said, "but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be around her."

Gasping, Stevonnie stared. "How did you know?"

Smiling, Garnet tiled her head, and just behind her hair was one purplish eye, that blinked at them. Or maybe winked at them.

Stevonnie grinned despite themself. "Future vision….!"

"And besides," Garnet continued as she reached out and pulled Lacey's hands, with Rayne's pearl in them, away from her face. "Rayne Pearl will be back right about now."

There was an almost musical note as Rayne's pearl lit up and lifted out of Lacey's hands. Stevonnie took a deep breath as Rayne's pearl floated in mid-air, then bright opaque light blossomed out of it and formed her outline. After a second, the light subsided and there was Pearl, good as new, looking no different than before. She seemed refreshed if nothing else. When her gem stopped glowing, she dropped from the air, landed lightly on her feet.

"Oh. Oh!" Rayne looked around and blushed. "How embarrassing! Please excuse me, everyone." Rayne turned to Stevonnie and stared. "Oh my … Myyyyy Diiiiiamooooond!" She closed the distance between herself and Stevonnie and threw her arms around their neck, jumping to do so.

Stevonnie gasped and caught her around the waist with the laugh.

"My Diamond, you can fuse! Oh, my stars! And Connie! I can't believe this!" Rayne hopped down and looked Stevonnie up and down. "This is amazing! An organic gem fusing with a natural gem! That is amazing! Garnet did you see this."

"Not at all," Garnet said with a smile.

"What's your name again?" Rayne asked.

"They're Stevonnie," Lacey said, wrapping her arms around Rayne and Stevonnie. "Raspberry Quartz."

"Ah!!! Raspberry Quartz!" Rayne hugged Stevonnie again. "I am so proud of you!"

"Thanks," Stevonnie said. "Oh! And there's one more thing!"

Stepping back, Stevonnie unfused with a flash of light, leaving behind Steven and Connie, who were clasping hands. Steven's gem was turned back in its side, his long curls more black than pink, and his eyes passing for normal. Steven grinned and squeezed Connie's hand.

"Guys!" Steven said. "I'm going to tell the other Diamonds I'm ready to take the throne!"

A gasp filled the room.

"You are?" Amethyst asked.

"Holy moly," Spinel cried. "The Diamond's are going to be so happy!"

"Steven," Rayne said, "are you sure you're ready?"

"Yes," Lacey nodded. "Being a Diamond is hard work all the time. Are you sure you don't want to wait?"

"Stars," Garnet said, commanding the room. "Steven has trained his whole life for this. He's a far cry from the child he used to be. And!" Garnet looked at Connie and smiled. "He's got his own pearl now."

Connie blushed and would have taken her hand from Steven's but he held it too tightly. In fact, he took his arms and wrapped them around her shoulders. It was both smothering and comforting, like a hot, over-sized blanket. Her first instinct was to pull away, but the warmth was so comfortable she settled into it despite her reservations. It was like melting into bed after a long day of training; she felt both physically uncomfortable and content.

"I'll do my best to support him," Connie said.

All eyes were on her, all smiling faces. Connie felt like she should run. But just as it got unbearable, Steven suddenly let her go.

"Heh, heh, heh." Steven shifted. He was still so close to Connie, that she could feel him moving behind her. "Guys, you're doing the thing again."

"What thing?" Amethyst asked.

"Staring," Steven said flatly.

"Come on," Garnet said. "Let's get to work."

"Work?" Spinel asked.

"If Steven is going to take the throne, we've got to get ready." Garnet turned to Rayne and Lacey. "You guys should start the preparation to leave for Homeworld. Connie can go with you."

"Actually," Steven said blushing a little, "I want to take Connie to meet my Dad. Can you guys hold down the base while we head back to the surface?"

"Fine," Garnet said, "but you have to give the other Diamonds a call first."

Steven groaned but nodded. "Okay. Hold on." He marched over the vanity and pressed a series of diamond-shaped buttons in a musical pattern. Then he stood back and folding his arms over his chest.

"Is he really calling the Diamonds?" Connie whispered.

"Yes," Rayne said. "He is a Diamond. You'll learn to do this for him soon." Rayne put an arm around Connie's shoulders. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. The Diamond these days are very different than their image."

"How so?" Connie asked, but before she got her answer, a diamond-shape screen opened up in front of the vanity and a pearl appeared.

She was adorned with yellow and gold clothes with a large yellow diamond on her chest, under her pearl. She must have been none other than Yellow Diamond's Pearl. "Oh!" the Pearl said. "Pink Lotus! How are you, my Lustrous One?"

Steven laughed a little uncomfortably. "Hi, Sun. I'm still going by my middle name."

"Oh, yes," Sun said, "Forgive me, Pink Steven."

Steven grinned tightly. "Right. Anyway, where's Daisey?"

"Yellow Diamond is in her extraction chamber at the moment. Should I get her?"

"Yes, please!" Steven chirped.

"Very good, Pink Steven." The line went black and Steven said.

"Steven," Connie whispered.

"Yea?" Steven whispered back.

"Steven is your middle name?"

A dark pink hue covered Steven's face. "Well uh … yea. All the Diamonds have flower-based names, including me."

"The Diamonds have names?!" Connie whispered loudly. " Is Daisy—?"

"Shh," Garnet said, and just as she did the line back on.

Sun was back. "Pink Steven? Yellow Diamond."

And then there she was in all her glory. Yellow Diamond. She looked softer than Connie imagined. She was relaxing in what looked like a sauna, reclined in a chair, smiling.

"Well if it isn't Lotus. It's been a while."

"Daisy!" another voice said harshly. "He goes by Steven." The screen shifted and Blue Diamond appeared. "Steven! How are you?"

"I'm fine, Iris," Steven laughed. "Better than fine actually. I have something to tell you!"

"Are you finally going to choose?" Blue Diamond asked.

Steven sputtered and Connie could swear he glanced at her. "N-no! I mean … not right now… Maybe later."

"Soon?" Blue Diamond pushed.

"I … don't know! I'm going to be really busy soon anyway."

"Oh?" Yellow Diamond said. "Why?"

"I'm ready to take Mom's place in the Authority! I'm ready to reveal myself!"

There was a moment of silence as Yellow and Blue Diamond looked at each other.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Blue Diamond asked. "I mean, the whole universe will know you then."

Steven blushed, more Pink than usual. Much more pink than usual. "Guys! I can do this."

"I don't know, Lotus," Yellow muttered. "Are you sure about this?"

The pink in Steven's face rose. Or lowered, it was down to his arms and hands. "Yes! I'm sure! I have my own army. I have my own planets! I'm ready. I deserve to rule. I'm just as important as you are!"

There was a moment of silence. Rayne was squeezing Connie so tight it hurt. Everything seemed to stand still.

Then Yellow Diamond laughed, while Blue Diamond hid a smile behind her hand. The pink in Steven's skin faded as he stared at the screen.

"You … guys?" Steven muttered.

"Oh, Lotus," Yellow Diamond said. "You're so much like your mother."

Yellow Diamond smiled and it lit up the screen like the afternoon sun lights up the oceanfront. Connie would have sworn there were rainbows and sparkles in the room. It occurred to her that Steven had called Yellow Diamond's Pearl "Sun". A fitting name for the pearl of such a shimmering gem.

But the comment made her pause. Pink Diamond had been wise and benevolent. It seemed impossible that she would yell, or rage, or make angry demands. She was a Diamond; would who she ever need to shout a demand at? The more Connie listened and watched, the more she learned and less she knew.

"Alright, Lotus," Yellow Diamond said. "You've made your case. You can reveal yourself on your next birthday."

"What?!" Steven shouted. "That long?!"

"Now, Steven," Blue Diamond said gently. "Yellow is right. We need to prepare. And your pearl needs to be ready. Your mother picked you an organic pearl and they're notoriously difficult to customize."

Connie's mouth dropped open a little. Pink Diamond herself had picked her? But how? She hadn't been born when Pink Diamond had died to give birth to Steven. How could she have known?

"Yea!" Steven said quickly. "I'm sure my pearl will be great. I gotta go now so—"

"Steven!" Blue Diamond snapped. She looked annoyed. "Let us talk to Garnet first."

"Okay. But I'm going to go, so bye." Without another word, Steven rushed from the vanity and to Connie. "Garnet, you can take care of this," he said as he untangled Connie from Rayne's grasp.

"I sure can, My Diamond." Garnet nodded and strode over the screen, doing an almost casual salute as she reached it. "My Diamonds," she said coolly.

Connie wanted to see more, but Steven had started pulling her out of the room as soon as Garnet walked away and they reach the door as she spoke. Steven shut the door behind them and began pulling her down the hallway.

"Steven?" Connie said, keeping pace with him, "How did your mother choose me for you?"

"Uh … It's not important." Steven looked back at her.

Connie frowned. "More secrets, My Diamond?"

They stopped so suddenly that Connie ran into Steven's back and they landed in a heap on the floor.

"Sorry," they both said.

There was silence as they untangled themselves then sat on the floor together.

"No," Steven said. "I really am sorry. I thought we wouldn't have any more secrets but … I don't want you to hate me."

An urge rose within Connie and taking a chance, she placed her hand on Steven's cheek. "I could never hate you, Steven. You're my Diamond and my best friend."

A blush spread across Steven's face. "Really?"

Connie nodded.

"Well … okay." Steven took a breath. "Mom wanted everything to be perfect for me when I took her place. So before she died, she had Garnet look into the future. She was looking for a perfect pearl for me. An organic one, like me. Garnet said they looked for someone … who would match me and be my friend." Steven was almost as pink as when he had started yelling, but the hues were different. He hadn't been blushing with anger after all. "They found that a rose quartz and a ruby that would have a pearl sometime after I was born…"

"Me. Your mother saw me."

"Well, Garnet saw you." Steven looked straight down at the floor. "I thought if you knew,  you'd hate me. You'd think I was only friends with you because of … destiny."

"Steven," Connie muttered. "Destiny can't make people friends. I would have been friends with you no matter how we met. I think that's what Garnet saw. That's why we … work."

Glancing up Steven smiled. "Yea? Still Jam Buds?"

"Always Jam Buds," Connie said firmly. "Now … uh, we're not really going back to the surface like this, are we?"

Gesturing down at their clothes, Connie laughed. She was swimming in Pink Diamond's old dress and Steven was just in his leotard.

Laughing too, Steven shook his head. "No. My room is just over there. You can use—"

"Lacey's clothes! That's where you got the pink outfit when I was injured!"

"Yea. Come on." Steven lifted himself to his feet and held out his hand.

Connie took it and was lifted up.

 

* * *

 

"So your Mom's name was Rose?" Connie said. "And she named the other Diamonds?"

"Yep," Steven said.

They were walking through a part of town Connie had never been to. It was the place where the working gems lived, away from the barracks of the Pink Stars base and the boardwalk where the entertainment manned mostly by pearls were. The perfect lines of houses, all with a pink diamond on the front door, and neat square house reminded Connie of home and she was instantly relaxed. Steven was dressed like a soldier, in a plain tank top of pink, darker pink pants fitted snuggly to his thick legs, and pair of black boots.

When Connie had first seen him in the clothes, she commented that he actually looked like a rose quartz, to which he'd laughed and said, "Mom would probably crack her gem if she knew I walked around calling myself Rose Quartz. Rose quartzes are her babies, like my older sisters, but she was super proud of her influence as a Diamond."

Connie was like a soldier too, for once, in a long sleeve shirt, pants, and boots all in different shades of pink. Steven had said it would be easier to walk around like this. When Connie asked why they wouldn't just hide, Steven replied it would be too hard in this part of town.

"The thing is, I didn't always live with the Pink Stars. When I was a baby I lived with Dad. I only hide my face when I'm around the Stars."

So they were walking together out in open, dressed like rose quartzes, talking softly about the Diamonds.

"Mom loved Roses," Steven said. "She put them everywhere. She even made the rose quartz gems because of it. After she took in organic gems, she started calling herself Pink Rose."

"And then she named the other Diamond," Connie finished. "Yellow Daisey, who's pearl is Sun."

"Like sunshine!" Steven chirped.

"Blue Iris and Star."

"A blue star pearl. Very hot and powerful."

"And …" Connie trailed off. Talking about the last Diamond was a bit much even now, even as Pink Diamond's Pearl.

"And White Lily," Steven said. "Aunt Lily doesn't have a pearl, but frankly she doesn't really need one. Her role lets her go do things personally and everyone is a pearl compared to her."

"Yea…" Connie muttered. She glanced at Steven. The sun was shining down, making his black hair shine with the Pink highlights that Connie loved. "And you're Pink Lotus."

Steven laughed. "Having names does make it easier to tell me and Mom apart since were both Pink Diamond. She's Pink Rose Diamond and I'm Pink Lotus Diamond."

"Pink Lotus Steven Diamond."

"Well," Steven blushed. "Technically I'm Pink Lotus Steven Universe-Diamond."

"Is Universe your father's facet?" Connie asked. "That must be where you got the fake facet and cut that you told me when we met."

"It's not fake," Steven laughed. "I'm Pink Diamond, Facet UN-VRS, Cut ST-VN and my name is Lotus. Mom and Dad had my cut picked out before she died. Well, Mom picked out two cuts and Dad gave one to me when I was born."

"What was the other cut?" Connie muttered.

"Cut N-RA. If I was a girl."

"You'd be such a cute girl," Connie replied without thinking. She blushed immediately but was comforted by Steven's own pink blush.

"Dad's house is up ahead," Steven said suddenly. "The one on the corner."

Up ahead the rows of houses gave way to an intersection. A few cars wandered into the four-way stop and went on their way. Diagonal from the corner Connie and Steven were approaching was a huge building, not a house but a wash station, combined with a private garage. Sitting outside the garage was a van. It was cloud white with faint blue accents and splashed across the side were the letters UN-VRS.

"Your Dad owns a wash station?" Connie asked. "I thought he's an ametrine?"

"He is! Dad was …he was Mom's ametrine," Steven said in a voice just above a whisper. "When she died he got to do anything he wanted. But he didn't … want to play for the other Diamond's courts. And he had me to raise. He got the wash from a lapis lazuli."

"Is the lapis lazuli his boss?" Connie eyed the wash station.

"She used to be. She died a while back. Dad is really well off because the Diamonds give him anything he needs. He could have just lived on my base, or back on Homeworld, but he likes the wash station. He worked for Lapis before he became Mom's ametrine, while he was still looking for work suited to his gem, and I guess he finds it sort of like home."

"Oh. Does he have a pearl?"

"Nah, Dad doesn't like being waited on. And he doesn't have any stuff for them tend to. I guess it comes with being born a musician. He's not into material stuff."

They were at the corner where Steven pressed the button to cross and the intersection slowly crossed down by flashing a warning for several seconds, then putting up barriers so that pedestrians could cross. The barriers were waist high and translucent pink. Connie trailed her fingers along them as they crossed straight along the longest path, from one corner to the other.

Music floated from the wash station, a baritone voice, similar to Steven's voice.

_And it's a full-time job admiring all the ways that you're inspiring. If I had my way I'd do it all-day—_

"The only problem is it doesn't pay!" Steven picked up where was song was. "I think I need a little cha-a-ange. I think a need a little cha-a-ange. I think I need a little cha-a-a-a-a-a-ange."

"Stchu-ball?" a voice said over the music as it's volume suddenly fell. "It that you kid?"

"Hey, Dad! I brought a friend!"

An older gem walked out of the wash. He was tanned with shorts and a tank top. He had the same terrible sandals that Steven usually wore. Ametrine also had the same round, solid shape that Steven shared with quartz soldiers. The facet resemblance stopped at the hair texture. While Steven and his father shared a long mane of hair in common, where Steven's was curly and black, Ametrine's was straight as an arrow, and a dark brown like wet sand. Even their bangs were different. Ametrine's hair being lighter than Steven's. While Steven's hair held its shape like a ruby's thick hair, Ametrine's got caught up in the wind coming from the tunnel of the wash station.

"Hey!" Ametrine said. "You must be Pearl!"

"Yes," Connie said. "And you're Ametrine. You can call me Connie."

Ametrine laughed. "Thank you. You can call me Greg."

"Oh!" Connie blushed. "Thank you."

"Dad guess what!" Steven said excitedly. "I'm going to …" Steven dropped his voice. "… take Mom's place. For real now."

Greg stared, mouth open. "For … for real?! Oh my stars, that's great Stchu-ball!"

Steven and Greg went to each other and hugged. They rocked back the forth before parting and walking over the van in the driveway. Greg opened the back, and Steven climbed in.

"Come on over, Connie," Steven said, waving her over.

Connie did as he said and climbed into the back of the van next to Steven. Greg perched on the edge of the back, next to the doors, smiling.

"So what did the other Diamonds say when you told them?" Greg asked.

Steven chuckled and titled his head to one side. "Well, Daisey and Iris were pretty much fine with it. Worried about me, but fine. I haven't talked to Lily yet."

"Oh, geez," Greg said, wincing. He turned to Connie and said, "Have you met Lily yet?"

Connie couldn't bring herself to call White Diamond by her name. It made her blush to even think about it. She shook her head. "Not yet."

"Oh, well, Lily can be a little overbearing. She loves her subjects and loves Steven, but she can be … intense."

"But it's fine!" Steven suddenly cut in, loudly and cheerfully. "I've got a handle on Lily. And don't worry, she's going to love you!"

Steven took her hand and squeezed it. Connie smiled weakly and it was honestly more because she knew Steven wanted her to and because she wanted to make him happy, than any other reason.

"Isn't this going to be great?" Steven said, staring at her and gripping her hand. "We're going to be Diamond and Pearl! Together all the time."

That thought did make Connie a little giddy. It was a life she never imagined for herself. Not only being the pearl of one of the Diamonds but being his … well, something to him.

"You kids are too cute," Greg said with a laugh. "You remind me of Rose and me."

Steven gasped and squeezed Connie's hand so hard it hurt. "Mom?" he said. "Wow. Why?"

"Well, Rose might have been a Diamond but she was … impulsive? Excitable. She loved life and was so excited about everything the future held." Greg smiled and seemed to not even see them anymore. He laughed. "I remember the day she introduced me to the other Diamonds."

"Oh, my stars!" Steven shouted. "I've never heard that story!"

Greg laughed again, this time more loudly. "Is there really a story I haven't told you?"

Steven didn't answer Greg. Instead, he turned to Connie and put his other hand around the one of hers he was holding. "Dad tells the best stories," he said excitedly. "Half of what I learned about Mom, I learned from Dad's random stories about her."

Connie smiled and thought, what about the other half?

Steven finally let go of Connie's hand, only to link their arms. She found that was more comfortable and settled into next him. When Steven looked at Greg expectantly, she did too.

Greg looked back at them, smiling. "I guess I have to tell it, don't I? Steven, are you ever going to get too big for my stories?"

"Never," Steven said confidently.

Greg shrugged and fished a digital control out of his pocket. He opened its screen, tapped a few sections, then raised the level on one of the sliders. From the van's speakers, Greg's disembodied voice suddenly sang.

_You. Look at everything you are. Look at everything you do. It's incredible, as incredible as you._

"I came from one of the nearby colonies," Greg said. "Gliese-667-Cc. I was on New Homeworld for about a month when I ran into Rose."

 

* * *

 

It was a stupidly hot day in Star City. Even the more sensitive natural-gems were slowing down their work production, and organic gems had been ordered to take the day off completely. Most gems were huddled inside under the AC or eating something cool. The mains ones working were the lapis lazuli, larimars and snowflake obsidians of both types. Water and ice were in high demand.

Greg wasn't a lapis lazuli, but he worked for one. As an ametrine, he should have been relaxing, but he hadn't found a job suitable for his gem type and he still needed to do something to earn his daily meals, not to mention some spending money. Plus, since he didn't have an owner, or any prestige to buy a place of his own he would have been stuck living in the dorms if he didn't live at the wash station with Lapis. He owed her for giving him a private room in a private house, so he wouldn't have live five-to-a-room in the dorms. Greg loved people, but it was hard to concentrate on songwriting when he had four roommates around him.

So he was working in the wash station on the hottest day of the year. Or rather, he was lounging sleepily in a chair under an umbrella at the wash station. There hadn't been a single car all morning. Lapis was gone helping pump water into pools and Greg was alone, bored, and hot. He was just about to doze off when a shadow fell across his legs and feet, only part of him that was out in the sun. He looked up and saw her.

She was tall, taller than most quartz soldiers by a few inches and built like a tank. With short pink hair that curled around her face. The pink gem wore a halter top and a pair of shorts with sandals.

"Um," she said.

Greg watched her shift from foot to foot. She was the most beautiful gem he'd ever seen. Her face was round and cute, and she had a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses on.

"I - I like your shoes," she said softly.

Greg looked down at his feet. They were right next to hers and in the same sandals, she was in. His was brown, and hers were pink, but they were the same. Sandals were rare.

"Oh!" he said. "Thanks. I got them for a concert I gave back on Gliese-667-Cc."

The pink gem gasped. "You're a musician?" She looked at him more closely. "Purple and yellow. You're an ametrine. "

Smiling, Greg touched his forehead. He had on a circlet of titanium and his gem sat over the middle of his forehead. It was constantly hidden by his hair, but it was a bright purple and a yellow so deep it looked gold.

"Yep. Ametrine, Facet UN-VRS, Cut G-RG. You can call me Greg."

"What do call yourself on stage?!" the pink gem asked excitedly.

Greg hopped to his feet. "I'm … the Universe!"

The pink gem made a muffled squealing sound. "I'm Rose!" she shouted.

Greg suddenly noticed they were standing very close to each other. He wanted to back up, but with his chair behind him, there was no place to go. He laughed, instead of moving.

"Hey, Rose."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

"I didn't even know she was who she was," Greg said to Connie and Steven. "She didn't really look like herself."

Connie glanced at Steven. Steven had black hair and deep brown eyes with round pupils. It was obvious he'd gotten his knack for hiding from his mother.

"How long until you met the other Diamonds?" Steven asked.

"Well, that was a total accident, actually," Greg sighed. "I didn't know Rose was a Diamond for months. I even met her pearls and the pink stars and I didn't know. I thought Rose was her gem type. I thought she a rose quartz for the Pink Stars."

Connie pressed her back teeth together, but relaxed when Steven squeezed her arm and said, "Well, it was a smart idea."

"It has worked for you," Greg laughed. "But she never told me she was a rose quartz. She just said her name was Rose and I assumed the rest. I never even asked any questions to confirm it, because I was sure I knew."

"But," Connie said. "Didn't the Pink Stars, Lacey, or Spinel tell you?"

"No. Rose liked to keep a low profile when she went out of her own. I said she was impulsive. And they always called her Rose in private."

Connie smiled softly and remembered she'd asked Steven once if Pink Diamond would use her name if she had one. He'd told the truth back then. Connie supposed he had always tried to tell the truth when he could.

"So how do you accidentally run into the other Diamonds?" Connie asked.

"I didn't so much run into them," Greg said wistfully, "as I got picked up by them."

~

"And me? I guess I'm content to be on the arm of someone who is as incredible as you. And it's a full-time job admiring all the ways that you're inspiring. If I had my way I'd do it all day. That's why it's really, really hard to say—"

The song he was composing caught in Greg's throat. A looming blue shadow hovered over him, darkening the sky and blocking his vision of anything but her. Blue Diamond in all her glory.

She was pretty, honestly, with long pale blue hair similar to the shadows on freshly fallen snow, and deep blue skin the color of the sky. She had bright blue eyes that were full of sad kindness, set deep into her long oval face. Greg stared at her for a moment, filled with a strange sense of beautiful, aching melancholy that he could write a whole album about, before remembering himself. He dropped his guitar and saluted.

"My Diamond," he said in a hushed voice, dreading to break the silence.

"It appears to be an ametrine," a small voice near him said.

Greg looked for the source of the voice and found it in a blue pearl, no doubt Blue Diamond's pearl.

"So it is," Blue Diamond said. Her voice was sweet and musical. "Ametrine, did you write that song?"

"Yes, My Diamond," Greg answered with pride. This could be his chance to finally have an owner. One of the Diamonds, no less. It would take him away from rose and his other friends but wouldn't it be worth it to make it big in court?

"Wonderful!" blue diamond said. She reached out, and to Greg's utter shock, grabbed him around the torso. "Pink and Yellow will just love this. Won't they pearl?"

"Yes, My Diamond," Pearl said as she began to walk back toward where Blue Diamond had come from.

Greg held his breath and tried not to squirm as Blue Diamond studied him. He had no idea what she was going to do. She could shatter him if she wanted and maybe she would. It was already hard to breathe in her grasp. But after a few seconds that felt like an eternity, Blue Diamond turned her attention over her shoulder.

With metallic clicks Blue Diamonds palanquin marched up to them, Blue Pearl standing at her place next to the seat. The thought of kicking crossed Greg's minds but what would that do? Besides, how could he defy a Diamond? Limpness set in as he was carried to the palanquin and set on Blue Diamond's lap.

The least he could do was watch where they were going, which was into the forest and to Blue Diamond's massive arm shaped ship. The palanquin marched inside and up to the cockpit. Blue Diamond cupped a hand around Greg and lifted the other which was enclosed in a bright blue hue. A rumble tore through the ship and Greg caught himself on blue diamond's cupped hand. He didn't realize right away that they were rising. Not until he regained his composure and managed to find his footing on the giant lap and look out over the giant, soft hand. Clouds rushed by and the blue of the sky gave way to darker and darker hues until he could see the stars beyond the facade of the atmosphere.

His breath caught in his throat and Greg suddenly thought to himself that would never see New Homeworld again. Never again would he watch The Littlest Pearl with Amethyst. He'd never jam with Garnet again. He and Pearl would never have a passive-aggressive argument over Rose and stars he loved doing that! And Rose. He'd never see Rose again. He'd never go from passively-aggressively arguing with Pearl about her to telling her how he felt! Greg needed to get off his ship and back to the surface before they made it all the way to Homeworld.

But they never headed past New Homeworld's orbit. The ship slid into New Homeworld's orbit and sling-shot around the planet and to the moon.

Blue Diamond landed her ship with a feather-light touch, before getting up. Greg found himself sitting in her palm this time, peeking around her softly curved fingers at Pink Diamond's base.

Suddenly the idea occurred to him that he wasn't going to end up at Homeworld. It was possible Blue Diamond just wanted to take him to Pink Diamond's court. And if that was true, he'd get to see Rose all the time! And Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst, and even Lacey and Spinel!

"Daisey!" Blue Diamond called in her sing-song voice. "Come look at what I found on the surface."

Footfalls rang out through the halls, then through a huge door, past a long pair of pink curtains came Yellow Diamond, shining in sun-colored armor.

"Blue," she said almost harshly. "What is that? An ametrine? Did you pick up a random gem?"

"Listen to him sing, Daisey."

Blue Diamond walked quickly to a quartet of thrones, color-coded to the diamonds: White, Yellow, Blue, and Pink. However here, the tiny pink throne, hovered above the others, the biggest white throne, sat on the floor with the two other thrones. Greg found himself set gently on the floor, then Blue Diamond hurried to sit down on her throne. Yellow Diamond sat on the other side of the white throne and looked at him expectantly.

Shifting from foot to foot, Greg considered what he was supposed to do, when he felt a presence by his side. It was Blue Pearl with his guitar.

"Here, Ametrine," she said softly and with a smile.

It was the first smile that hadn't terrified him since he'd been picked up, and he returned it gratefully as he took his guitar.

"Thanks," he said, then put his guitar strap over his head. "Any requests?" he called to the Diamonds as he tuned his precious guitar.

"Play something upbeat!" Blue Diamond said quickly. "Something happy."

"Yes, My Diamond!" Greg shouted and began to play.

"Some say I have no direction; that I'm a light speed distraction, but that's a knee jerk reaction."

He didn't have any lights or any backing music, and he wasn't even on a proper stage. However, Blue Pearl and Yellow Pearl picked up the beat and started to vocalize to the sound of his guitar and Greg gave the performance of his life. He played so hard his fingers hurt and sang so passionately he stopped hearing it but felt the notes leave his throat. When he sang the last line, he felt he would collapse.

The room was deathly quiet for a moment before a single pair of clapping hands broke the silence. Greg turned and saw her standing there in the doorway: Rose.

"Rose!" Blue Diamond said, smiling.

"Rose? Why do you look like that?" Yellow Diamond asked.

"I was checking for late Amethysts," Rose said. Her form lit up and under her shirt up gem rotated. Greg's eyes grew wide as plates but he made no other move to react as Rose grew several feet and became Pink Diamond. "One late Amethyst took us all enough by surprise."

"But you love 8XM," Blue Diamond said.

"Iris!" Pink Diamond sighed. "Call her Amethyst or Axelle. Names, remember?"

"Oh! Of course, Rose. Ametrine."

Greg turned around quickly. "Yes, My Diamond?"

Blue Diamond, Iris, smiled. "What's your name?"

"G-Greg."

"I'm Blue Iris Diamond. This Yellow Daisy Diamond."

Greg saluted. "My Diamonds."

~

"Were you terrified?" Connie asked, open-mouthed.

"Yes!" Greg said. "Imagine the Diamonds just introducing themselves to you." He laughed and looked at Steven. "Present company excluded."

Steven had somehow laid down and put his head in Connie's lap during the story. "I've never picked some up and carried them off," he said solemnly.

"You do that to me all that, Pink Lotus," Connie reminded him.

Steven blushed. "Steven's hungry now!" he said pushing himself up. "Who wants pizza?"

Connie laughed and nodded.

The three of them climbed out of the truck only to find Wolf had caught up to them.

"Hey buddy," Steven said, petting the giant pink wolf's nose. "What's up?"

Wolf rubbed his snout into Steven's hand, then sat down and dropped something into his hand.

"Um … thanks?" Steven said as he looked at it.

"What is it?" Connie asked, edging closer. If the thing was another lizard tail, she was prepared to pull back and leave it alone. But on the off chance it was something amazing, she wanted to know about it.

"It's … a key." Steven answered. "And … it matches the chest!"

"What chest?" Connie asked quickly, but Steven didn't answer.

He took a breath a dove headfirst into Wolf's side, disappearing into the wolf's pink fur. Connie stared in disbelief.

"Don't worry; he's fine," Greg said. "This was Rose's Wolf. His fur is like a pearl's pearl, all sorts of space in there. But only for her and Steven."

"Oh! So there's a chest in there?"

"There's a whole little landscape in there. Two actually. One for Wolf and one for Lars."

"Lars?"

"He's pink too," Greg shrugged.

Lars was pink, the same strange pink that Wolf was. And if there were two landscapes in Wolf's fur, one coming out of Wolf's fur and one leading out of Lars's hair that meant Wolf, at some point, had died as well. Connie stared at the animal. He looked back with an intelligence that seemed to far surpass any animal.

But as Connie tried to figure out what he could understand Steven's face popped out of his fur, grinning.

"I opened it!" he sang.

Pulling Steven out of the tangle of pink, Connie asked. "What was in it the chest?"

A laugh bubbled up out of Steven and pulled something from behind his back. "This!"

It was a bubbled gem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am tired. Sorry for the space between updates. Real life is terrible/busy. And don't @ me over the illustration, please. It's my day off and I just ... I tried. TT_TT.
> 
> Next time: War Gem.  
> And you guys will get to vote on which scene get an illustration so look forward to that.
> 
> EDIT: As of 2/15/20 there is a slight change to the dialogue in one scene for constancy sake. It shouldn't be noticeable.


	12. War Gem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Connie find a gem from the New Homeworld Rebillion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this late? Yes.  
> Do I have a good excuse? Nope.  
> Is it all kicking off on New Homeworld? You bet your ass.

_Slowly, Steven put his arms around her shoulders. "Remember when we had a make-up picnic? And we played music all day? You taught yourself to play violin laying down so we could lie in the grass and play. It gave you a cramp. Then I said we were jam buds because on New Homeworld to play music together is called jamming, and we were eating jam and biscuits and you said,"_

_"Only on Pink's World," they said together._

_"I thought it could be like that all the time," Steven said. "I thought we could be jam buds. I didn't think we'd have to be a gem and their pearl, like everyone else."_

_"Steven. I'm so sorry. I just wanted to be a good pearl because you're such a good friend."_

_"You can be a good pearl just by being a good friend. You can just be you. You don't have to Pearl first and Connie second. That's the beauty of being a natural gem. Your gem type doesn't define you. I wish I had that."_

 

* * *

 

The inside of Greg’s tiny apartment brought Connie back to that day on Yellow Diamond’s Moon Base. The day she and Steven had almost fused for the first time, the day she began to understand him as her owner and her friend, was the day that he had said something that she understood more and more as she became a part of his life. He had told her she didn’t have to be Pearl first and Connie second. Now she knew that Pink Rose Diamond had given herself, and everyone else, a name to help them escape the burden of their existence as gems.

Once Connie had called New Homeworld “Pink’s World,” but that wasn’t the truth. New Homeworld wasn’t the only place that was Pink’s world. Everything Connie had ever known was Pink Diamond’s. The Kindergarten Wing of the Hospital she’d been born in was Pink Diamond’s. Her house, her neighborhood, her home-planet was Pink Diamond’s. The space between her planet and New Homeworld was Pink Diamond’s. Even Connie’s existence was Pink Diamond’s. Pink Diamond had seen her through her Garnet’s future vision and pressed her being together out of a Rose Quartz and a Ruby who were going to fall in love. Everything Connie was, or had ever seen or experienced was part of Pink’s World and therefore belonged to Steven in a real way.

But Steven was organic, like her, and didn’t have to Pink Lotus Diamond, heir to Pink Rose Diamond, first and himself as individual gem second, no matter what he said. Because here, out of all the places Connie had been in her life, Connie finally saw Steven instead of Pink Diamond.

Steven said he lived in the tower to be close to the Stars, but considering he’d also said the people in this neighborhood knew him, and state of the apartment, he must have lived here at one point. The place was a mess in way Connie had never dreamed of leaving her own room. Her mother and Pearl would have never allowed it. There were clothes everywhere, much of them pink and black, some white, and rest shades that an ametrine would wear. Sandals were in a pile near the door, along with boots and shoes. There were jackets pilled over-high on hooks by the door and blankets and pillows on the sofa.

The end tables of the sofa were piled with old drinks and plates. There was music paraphernalia everywhere, most noticeably a little ukulele, with a familiar little diamond carved into it, on a stand next to an empty guitar stand. It was only area of the living room that was perfectly clean, a parent’s tribute their child.

Connie smiled warmly. “This place is wonderful,” she said airily.

“Yea, it’s okay,” Greg said. He was walking from pile to pile, picking up clothes. “But maybe we should clean up a little bit if we’re going to have company.”

Steven looked at Connie and blushed. “Sorry about the mess,” he muttered. He let the bubbled gem float up towards the ceiling and started clearing the plates and cups from the side tables of the sofa.

“Should I help?” Connie asked.

“Sure,” Steven said without looking at her. “Gather the blankets and the pillows on the couch and we’ll take them to the bedroom together.”

The urge to salute rose up within Connie but she stamped it down and obeyed without a word.

The pillows and blanket had blankets had seen better days, and smelled of something that Connie couldn’t identify, not a bad smell, just a distinct one. Idly she wondered if she should suggest the whole lot of bedding go in the wash when they were done with the bubbled gem, when something pink caught her eye.

The room was set up so that it had just out of her sight before, but on the wall of the apartment was something incredible: a painting of Pink Diamond - not Steven who was everywhere else in the apartment, but Rose.

Connie had never seen Pink Rose Diamond before, only murals from Era 1 and Era 2. But murals were done in silhouette and this painting was full of detail. Rose was standing or - maybe leaning against a tall chair - in a fluffy indescribable background of pink clouds. She stared out from the painting, her pink irises and diamond shaped pupils as soft and kind as Steven’s. Rose’s blush colored curls were the same shaped around her head as Stevonnie’s, and shared a long, strong body shape too. Despite being alone in the painting, Rose was unimaginably a fusion. Her hands, which rested on her stomach, had a pearl in each of them, both of pale pink of different shades and easy identifiable as Lacey’s and Rayne’s. In her left wrist was an amethyst for Axelle. A matching sapphire and ruby were in her right wrist at the base of a purple glove, in which Rayne’s pearl was set. This obviously wrapped Garnet around Rayne. Set in her chest was a single heart shaped stone of deep pink for Spinel. However, that wasn’t all. Rose’s pose not only showed her gem but showed her to be heavily pregnant and her pale pink dress had a wide sash around her stomach that was the distinct purple and gold of an ametrine: Greg.

Pink Diamond, her Pink Stars, her Pearl, her Spinel, her Chosen, and her Child.

Connie stared at the painting in quiet awe and understanding. If Connie had grown up with this image to aspire to, she’d crack under the pressure.

“Connie?” Steven’s soft voice called her back from her thoughts.

Suddenly self-conscious, Connie looked back at the blankets. “Mmm? Yea?”

“Mom was pretty,” Steven said almost off-handedly.

“She was, my Diamond.” Connie’s head snapped up to looked at Steven.

He was looking down at the cups and plates that he was failing to gather. Either he didn’t notice her slip or didn’t care.

“Everybody says I look like her. Just sometimes, at certain moments,” he muttered.

“I think … you look like her little. But she’s your Mom. You should look like her. I look like my Mom.”

“We should visit your Mom sometime,” Steven said. “She’d be so proud of you.”

“I bet your Mom would be proud of you.” Connie shifted. “I mean—”

“Hey kids,” Greg called. “Do you think we’re going to be taking this gem into the kitchen becau… am I interrupting something?”

Connie smiled and noted that Steven did the same.

“No, Dad,” Steven said. “We’re going to haul this stuff into the bedroom!”

“Okay,” Greg muttered with a frown.

Connie and Steven grabbed all the bedding on the sofa and Steven half pushed, half directed Connie out of the living room down the hall and into the first bedroom. Once there Steven simply dumped the bedding on the floor and closed the door.

The room itself was small a little messy, but not as messy as the living room. It looked like a child lived in the room, or that one had until recently. Everything was too small for an adult, bright colors, and cheerful.

“Was this your room?” Connie asked picking up a bear dressed a DJ.

“Yea,” Steven said. “I moved out when I was still a kid because the Tower was finished.”

Connie frowned and thought of his room in the Palace. In was basically a nursery aged up for an adult, more a room for the child of Pink Diamond, then for a grown man. Hopefully Steven’s room in the Tower was more suited to him. He did presumably live there most of the time.

“Are you going to make your Mom’s old room yours?” Connie asked idly.

“Hmm? Yea. I guess,” Steven answered. “Connie. Listen. I wanted to thank you for today.”

Connie turned and looked at Steven again. He was looking down at the floor. He looked terribly out of the place and she was in his old room. Everything here was too small for him, too bright, too cheerful in a strange way. Everything was wrong. This place belonged to a person Connie didn’t know and would probably never know if Steven had his way and kept his secrets.

“There’s no need to thank me, My Diamond,” Connie said almost sadly.

“Stop,” Steven said. “This isn’t about me being a Diamond. You … gave something today. I’ve never been able to fuse before today. I couldn’t get hang of it. I think something was holding me back. You’ve always been such a good friend to me. Something about us just works.”

Guilt welled up in Connie. It wasn’t Steven’s fault that he was so closed off; who would’ve he had to talk to? For that matter, who had Connie wanted to trust as much as she wanted to trust Steven? Maybe that was why it hurt her so much to think he was cutting her off.

Smiling, she closed the distance between them and took his hand.

“It’s late,” Connie said. “Let’s unbubble that gem in the morning.”

“Gives us time to clean the apartment,” Steven conceded. “Wanna crash on the couch together?”

Connie turned pink but kept her face neutral. “Sure. But let’s throw the bedding in the wash.”

“What?! Why?!” Steven pouted. “It’s clean.”

Connie didn’t press but smiled and touched her forehead to Steven’s shoulder. She felt his free hand come up and rest in her hair. Somehow Connie knew she’d have to be the one to pull away. Steven’s body relaxed too much; his fingers tangled into her hair all the way down to her scalp. It was comfortable, but they had work do to. They could rest soon enough. Pushing away with her free hand, Connie put some distance between them. Steven allowed it immediately.

They split up. Steven helped Greg tidy up, while Connie sorted through the bedding and made the sofa into a bed for two for the night. When the apartment was clean, Greg retired to his room and Connie and Steven took the sofa.

It occurred to Steven at the last minute to contact to the Stars and tell them something concerning their absence. However, when they reached out to them, they got Amethyst who was hiding behind a rock.

“Uhh, kinda busy, My Diamond! There’s two corrupted gems out here and we’ve got our hands full!”

“Oh!” Steven said. “Well, be careful. Call if you need me.”

“Right-o, Pink Stev.”

The line disconnected.

Connie shifted against Steven. They were already lying down, and she had moved up during the call to get a better look at what was going on. Now she settled back into place.

“What is a corrupted gem?” she asked.

Steven sighed. “When Mom went missing and the other Diamond thought she was dead, they launched an attack on this planet. It was meant to destroy every gem on the planet, but it takes all four Diamond to do that. Without Mom, the attack only partially destroyed the gems; it corrupted them, turned them into the those monsters you sometimes see roaming around. Mom has been collecting and bubbling them since her return to power.”

“Why not get the other Diamonds to help?”

“I don’t know,” Steven admitted. “The only ones she trusted with the task are the Pink Stars. She’s the been trying to cure them on her own too.”

“That doesn’t make sense, though,” Connie protested. “If it took three Diamond’s in a partial attack to corrupt them, then it should take all four to restore them.”

“I know. I just … I’m only just now taking Mom’s place. I can’t go changing things yet.”

“No,” Connie agreed. “You can’t go changing things yet.”

They settled in. Steven had an arm wrapped around Connie so they would fit. As she fell asleep Connie, realized what the smell on the blankets had been. It was same one on her borrowed clothes. It was Steven’s body. She breathed it in, memorized it.

 

* * *

 

“What if it’s corrupted?” Connie asked.

Breakfast had been made; the dish cleaned and put away. The apartment looked tidy enough now, but still lived in with bedding on the sofa and the smell of cooking in the air. But the comfort of the apartment couldn’t dispel the unease in the air.

“Yea,” Greg agreed. “You’re Mom’s been collecting corrupted gems for ages. Maybe this is another one.”

Steven took a long sip of his orange juice, then put down the glass and frowned. “If she’s corrupted, we wasted the evening cleaning the apartment.”

“Steven!” Connie snapped, without being able to help herself. “Really. What will we do?”

“We’ll handle it,” Steven shrugged. “We’ve taken on corrupted gems before. This one couldn’t be any more dangerous than any of the others.” Steven pushed away from the table and stretched. “We might as well get started.”

“Should I stay?” Greg asked.

“Yea,” Steven said. “If anything happens, you can go call the Stars for backup. Connie. Come on.”

“Yes, My Diamond.” Connie pushed away from the table, ignored the look that Steven gave her for her misstep, and took her place by his side.

“Okay.” Steven said. “Let’s do this.” He smoothly rushed forward and hopped up into the air and caught the bubbled gem. As he came back down the ground, he popped the bubbled held the gem in his hands.

Connie tensed and felt for her sword in her pearl as she gazed at the gem. It was florescent in color and metallic in shade with an angular shape and a concave configuration. It could only be a bismuth. But whether it was bismuth that was sound of mind, or corrupted, they would only know when the body formed.

The bismuth gem glowed in the Steven’s hands and rose out of his grip. Steven let it go and stepped around it to come back to Connie. A solid form sprouted from the glow of the gem, and more noticeably wild, thick hair, the trademark feature of a bismuth. Then figure was there, heavy a solid, like all bismuths, in an apron with a star on it and her eyes gently closed. She looked peaceful, floating in midair, until the glow wore off and she dropped like a rock to the floor and crumbled to all floors.

Connie and Steven gasped.

“Is she okay?” Greg asked from by the door.

“I don’t know?” Steven said. “Maybe she’s been bubbled too long.” He walked up to the gem, Connie on his heels. “Hello,” he said. “Are you okay? Can you hear me?”

“Uhhg,” the bismuth said as she struggled to her feet. “What? Where am I?” She looked at them, wide-eyed. “Hey. Hi there.” The gem gave them a little smiled. “You’re humans, aren’t you?”

Connie glanced at Steven and met his eyes. He was frowning.

“We’re organic gems,” Steven said, looking back at the bismuth. “I’m Rose Quartz,” he lied. “And this my Pearl.”

“Hello, Bismuth,” Connie with a small curtsy.

Bismuth stared at them for a moment before laughing. “You two are gems? What even is an organic gem?”

“How long have you been in that bubble?” Steven asked, worried.

“The bubble? I was … I don’t know.” Bismuth looked around. “Where am I, anyway?”

“I think you better sit down,” Greg called from by the door.

Bismuth finally took notice of him, but Connie noticed that Bismuth also noticed the painting he was standing next to.

“Yea,” Steven said. “Sit down. Here. Okay. Comfy? Now, you’re on New Homeworld.”

“And where is that?” Bismuth grumbled.

“It used to be called Earth,” Connie said. “It was Pink Diamond’s first colony. Now it serves as her home base.”

“It does?” Bismuth said. “What about the other Diamonds. What about humans?”

“I told you,” Steven said. “There are no humans. We’re organic gems.”

“I’m Amertine,” Greg said. He moved his hair away from his forehead and showed his gem.

“I’m Pearl,” Connie said. Her pearl was clearly visible, so she didn’t feel the need to point to it.

“And I’m … Rose Quartz.”

Steven, apparently, was going to keep up the lie for the moment. He even raised his shirt and showed his gem.

At this, Bismuth sat up straighter. “You! You have a gem in your body!”

“I’m a hybrid,” Steven said. “The first, but not the last.”

Connie glanced at Steven discretely. This was a new lie. Or maybe a new truth. It was so hard to tell the different between the two.

Lowering his shirt, Steven smiled. “My mom was Rose Quartz, and she had a baby with my Dad over there and made me. I got her gem, but she … disappeared in the process. Now I’m Rose Quartz. Get it?”

“I think so,” Bismuth muttered.

“It’s a work in progress. Pink Diamond changed this world,” Steven said. “When she put down the rebellion and stopped the Rebel Rose Quartz and Renegade Pearl, she brought Peace back to Crystal System and within a new era to the Diamond Authority. She established New Homeworld on what was supposed to be just another colony, and completely changed the way the Homeworld functions. You’ve been out of the loop for a while, but I’m sure we can find a place for you here Bismuth.”

“Is that her back there,” Bismuth said quietly. “Pink Diamond?”

“Pink Rose Diamond,” Steven said. “Her … son. Pink Lotus Diamond is going to rule in her place now.”

“Her son…” Bismuth said absently. “Pink Diamond has a son? Like … you? Another … hybrid?”

“Um … Yea. She’s gone now, too, and he’s going to take her place soon.”

“Mm. Listen.” Bismuth turned back to Steven, smiling. “Can I have a minute. This is a lot to take in.”

“Sure,” Steven said. “We’ll be downstairs if you need us.”

“Steven,” Connie whispered. This was a bad idea. This was a terrible idea. But Steven was already walking away, and Greg had the door open. Connie followed, but caught Steven halfway down the stairs. “We can’t leave her.”

“She’ll be okay for a few minutes,” Steven said with a smile.

“No, I mean,” Connie rolled her eyes. “We don’t know if we can trust her. Who knows why she was bubbled, or by whom?”

“Don’t worry about it Connie. For once, I think I’ve got everything under control. Mom wanted me to let her out at the right time, gave Wolf the key, he gave it to me, and I let her out. Easy. And she won’t have a lot to be filled in when she finds out I’m Pink Diamond! We’re done.”

“I think you’re underestimating an event horizon,” Connie hissed.

Steven shook his head and lifted Connie off her feet. “You worry too much. Everything is going to be fine.”

 

* * *

 

Fifteen minutes, later a crash drew them back them all back upstairs. Steven led way, empty-handed, but Connie followed close behind, sword in hand. Just because Steven was willing to trust this new gem, didn’t mean Connie had to trust his judgment. Greg brought up the rear, huddling close to Connie, an over-sized yo-yo clutched in his hands. Connie wasn’t sure what he thought he was going to do with that but she figured they should stick together none-the-less.

At the top of the stairs, the door into the apartment was unlocked and slid open at their approach but was blocked with the body of the sofa which came tumbling towards them with the door out of the way.

“Duck!” Connie shouted. She jumped between the walls to hoist herself up, a trick Amethyst had insisted she learn, jumped over Steven, sliced the sofa in two, then grabbed the door frame kicked the two pieces back inside the apartment. After dealing with the sofa Connie dropped down, expecting to land on her feet, only to be caught by Steven, who hugged her.

“So. Cool!”

“Thanks.” Connie said sheepishly, but quickly turned her attention to the apartment.

The bedding was on fire. The kitchen was trashed. The place has been looted. The living room’s back window had been smashed - presumably that was where Bismuth had gone because she was no longer in the apartment.

“My painting!” Greg shouted.

Connie looked over her shoulder toward the Pink Diamond painting and gasped. The beautiful painting had been covered in something foul smelling, wet, and greasy and in the gross substance a few words had been scratched. “Long live the Crystal Gems.”

“The Crystal Gems?!” Connie whispered harshly. “The Rebels!”

“Bismuth,” Steven whispered. “Oh no.”

“What’s the matter, son?” Greg asked nervously. “You’re uh … turning pink.”

Connie turned around in Steven’s arms and noticed at Steven was turning pink, from the cheeks outward.

“Dad, get to my Tower and stay there, but don’t tell the Stars why your there.”

Connie frowned. “Let me guess. We’re in trouble,” she said.

“Pearl!”

Steven glanced at her. For a moment their two unhappy stares met, but after a moment, Steven relented.

“Oh … yea. You were right.”

Greg was putting out the fire in the middle of the room and spoke over his shoulder. “Steven what’s going on?”

Sighing, Steven put Connie down. “That gem. She was the Bismuth, of the Crystal Gems.”

“Who was Bismuth?” Connie asked.

“The Rebel Rose Quartz and her Renegade Pearl weren’t only prominent figures of the New Homeworld Rebellion. The other was the Recreant Bismuth, a builder turned blacksmith who outfitted the rebellion with weapons used against Homeworld. Mom said that during her captivity she learned that the Recreant Bismuth forged Rose Quartz’s sword that was able dissipate the form of even a Diamond like her. She also built the cell that held Mom. She and the Renegade Pearl were Rose Quartz two most loyal followers.”

Steven shuttered.

“And we just let her out to roam around New Homeworld,” Connie said.

“Oh, Stars,” Greg muttered. “I’m going to the Tower.

 

* * *

 

The town raced by under them. Steven moved quickly and gracefully over the rooftops, pushing off from one spot, landing on the next, going on and on. Connie scanned to their left and Steven took the right. There were scores of people around, in the streets, in windows, on stairs, and in doorways. Pink diamond-shaped flags were hung everywhere alongside the Diamond Authority Insignia, flipped so that Pink’s Diamond was on top. Songs wafted up from the streets, mingling with cheering and chants of “My Diamond, My Diamond, My Diamond!”

Connie had asked if they should be jumping across the rooftops so openly before they left the apartment only to have Steven dismiss her.

“It won’t really matter what people see or know soon enough,” he’d said. “Besides, we have to find Bismuth.”

There was no arguing with arguing with that. Steven carried Connie, but not in his arms. She sat perched on his back with his arms under her butt to keep her steady. Instead of her sword she’d found a gift from her father in her pearl and used that.

“A cross bow?!” Steven shouted. “Where did you get that?”

“It’s my Dad’s weapon. He had one made for me, in case I never got one of my own.”

“A ruby with a crossbow?!” Steven had slowly turned to let her on his back. “Stars, you’re made of more amazing stuff than me.”

Connie would have been flattered at any other time, but she was frustrated with her Diamond at that moment, so she made a wordless noise and climbed on his back.

But despite being just a moment behind Bismuth, there was no sign of her.

“You’d think she be easy to find!” Connie said. “She should be tearing a hole through this place.”

“You’d think,” Steven responded. “Everywhere she turns there’s a celebration to person she betrayed. You’d think it’d drive her crazy. Maybe she more cunning than we thought.”

Steven landed in the town square, where a statue of Pink Diamond was carefully being moved off its pedestal by some bismuths. Connie slid down off his back and looked at him with a wince.

“What if she just slipped in with the other bismuths?” Connie asked.

Steven was silently for a moment. Then very softly he said, “Hell.”

Connie gave a soft gasp. She’d never heard Steven curse before.

“Steven!” one of Bismuths shouted. “Hi! Shouldn’t you be preparing? Didn’t you hear the message?”

“Hi, Bess,” Steven said, shifting from foot to foot. “What message?”

Bess grinned and signaled for her team, two other bismuths, to stop moving the statue. Hopping off the pedestal she strode over Steven and pulled out her communicator. After a few taps an old message started playing.

White Diamond appeared, not in silhouette or a copy of her mural, but in person. She was beautiful almost beyond comprehension. She was bright white, with beautiful black accents; she had huge painted eyes and black painted lips curved into warm hypnotizing smile. The dress she wore was made of stars, as were her shoes. The image of her was as big as Pink Diamond’s statue.

“Our loyal subjects,” she said in a sing-song voice. “I have wonderful new for you. We are finally ready to reveal the whereabouts of our wondrous, Lustrous Pink Diamond. On the anniversary of her seclusion this New Homeworld year, we will not mourn her leaving us, but celebrate Pink Diamond’s return to us! Join us in celebration of our Lustrous Pink Diamond!”

The message ended first with a closeup on White Diamond’s delighted face, then with the Diamond Authority’s Insignia, flipped so that Pink was in top.

“Can you believe it?” Bess said. “She’s coming back!”

Steven smiled, but he didn’t look comfortable. “Yea,” he said. “Hey, have you seen another bismuth come through here? Purple apron with a star on it?”

“Umm?” Bess frowned. “No. It’s just me and my girls. There’s going to be new statues going up, so we’ve got to move the old ones. I’ll keep a look out though. Is she extra help? We could us it.”

“Something like that,” Steven said.

“Hey!” Bess shouted, finally focusing on Connie. “You must be Pearl. I’ve heard about you. I can’t believe Steven has a pearl. I’m Bismuth-Bess. That’s Bismuth-Babs, and Bismuth-Bao. We’re all from the Zeta Kindergarten HD-40307-g in Yellow Diamond’s System.”

Connie gave a little gasp. “I learn about that plant in school. You guys have a great naming convention. I’m Pearl-Connie.”

“Nice to meet you.” Bess held out her hand, which Connie took gratefully.

“Listen, Bess,” Steven said anxiously. “We have to go. Sorry.”

“I’ll bet you do!” Bess laughed and let go of Connie’s hand. “And we’ve gotta move this statue. Come on girls! Back to work!”

As Bess got back to work Connie sighed in relief. “Well, the Recreant Bismuth isn’t hiding out with other bismuths.”

“I think she’d stick out too much,” Steven said. “Let try walking around and seeing what we can find.”

What they found were celebrations. Everyone everywhere was celebrating the return of Pink Diamond. Steven looked more and more comfortable. Asking questions with less and less tact as they moved from street to street. Finally, Connie had to step in.

“Maybe I should ask people if they’ve seen anything,” she said. “You’re about a particle’s width from exploding.”

“I just wish people would forget about Pink Diamond for a second.”

“You are Pink Diamond, My Diamond. They’re celebrating you.”

“Well they shouldn’t!” A rush of a pink appeared across Steven’s face. “I need them to listen to me. Not celebrate me. I need to be in command, not to be adored.”

Drawing close to Steven, Connie slipped her hand into Steven’s. “Shh. Calm down, My Diamond. It’s okay. We’re going to get through this.”

“I should have listened to you. I should have never let Bismuth out. I should have been watching her.”

“It’s okay!” We’re going figure this out.”

“How did she just disappear!?” Steven finally looked at Connie. “It’s been 5,000 years. Nothing is the same. Where could see go? What could see latch on to? Would see go to the tower because it’s pink? Would she find a warp pad?”

Gasping Connie squeezed Steven’s hand. “The Temple. She’d go to the Temple. It’s the only thing that was here during the War and at the time it was the base of —”

“The Crystal Gems!” Steven finished. The pink faded from his face and he swept Connie up in his arms, before jumping to the nearest rooftop and heading for the ocean.

 

* * *

 

The Gem Temple loomed large and foreboding in the midmorning sun, with stark shadows across its face causing it to look more menacing than Connie had ever seen it. Steven jumped from the nearest building high into the sky and landed on the Temple Gem’s outstretched hand. Before he could let Connie off his back, a gust of wind cut across the palm the hand and nearly them both off-balance.

“This would be a great place to hang the laundry,” Connie muttered with a frown. “Not a great place to start a battle.” She stepped down from Steven back gingerly.

“Wind swept battle grounds are overrated,” Steven agreed. “Do you see her?”

The ground below them seemed empty, but Bismuth was a rebel gem who had fought in the War. She wouldn’t be standing out in the open. A sudden pressure began to build in Connie’s chest. She swallowed against a lump in her throat and tightened her jaw.

“My Diamond?” Connie said softly, only just above the sound of the wind.

“Yes?” Steven replied. His voice was hard and distant. He wasn’t thinking about her. He was thinking about this mess.

“Should we gather the other Pink Stars?”

“No,” Steven almost growled. Then he sighed. “This couldn’t have come at a worst time. If anyone finds out about this before we get it cleaned up, Lily, Daisy and Iris will never let me hear the end of it. It looked better if we’re able to deal with this alone.”

“But the Stars—”

“Garnet will tell Lily,” Steven huffed. “I love Garnet. But she makes sure Lily knows how I’m doing, that I’m okay, that I’m ready to take Mom’s place. And since I can’t trust Garnet will see this as … well anything but a screw up, I can’t let her know until it’s over.”

“See won’t just predict it?” Connie said and at the same a shadow on the ground caught her eye.

“This is so out of the realm of normal, even Garnet could see it coming. We just have to—” Steven stepped closer to the edge of the palm in time with Connie.

“You see that?” Connie asked.

“Yea.”

Connie wrapped an arm around Steven’s shoulders as one of his arms snaked around her waist and he jumped from the stone palm into a slow fall. They landed on the soft sand below where the dark shadow from before took shape into Bismuth. There was a weapon shaped to her right hand, something that struck Connie as looking eerily like an arm-mounted pile driver. When Steven went to step forward, she put out her hand and shook her head.

“Careful,” she whispered eying the weapon.

“Oh this? The Breaking Point?” Bismuth said light, looking her arm. “Yea, I went and got it. I knew you’d come here looking for me. Looking for it before I could get to it.” Bismuth looked directly at Steven and frowned. “Did you think I would forget? Did you think I would assume you didn’t remember? Oh, you can wrap yourself somehow in that … human … that organic gem, whatever you wanna call it. But I know it’s you! I know that gem. I’d know it anywhere.”

Bismuth began to walk forward.

“I rebelled because of that gem. I fought because of it. Gems got shattered because of it! I built this,” she raised her arm to the rock face of the temple and the back the weapon pulled back, paused and shot forward, “because of that gem!”

The power of the weapon punched a hole into the rock, cleanly and efficiently, then the rest of the rock around it crack and crumbled away, shattered. Connie gasped despite herself. She caught Steven beginning to turn pink in her side vision.

“But it wasn’t enough,” Bismuth went on. “I showed this to you. It should have been the end of the War. But I ended up in a bubble for Stars knows how long and here you are, offering me a second chance. Oh, you’ve got a new pearl and a new name, but the gem is the same.”

“Yes,” Steven said. He was a glowing pink. “The gem is the same as all those thousands of years ago. I don’t know what happened back then, but I am my Mom. I am Pink Diamond!”

Steven shrugged Connie away and she saw his body glow as his gem rotated and he took his full pride of form as Pink Diamond. But during this, Connie’s eyes were trained on Bismuth who watched with confusion, then horror, then, strangely, a smile, as Steven changed. When he done, she laughed. And held her side with her left hand as if she was in pain.

“I should have shattered you when I had the chance,” Bismuth said, barely heard above the waves.

“Bismuth,” Steven growled. “Surrender. You’re a traitor and a rebel, but I don’t want to hurt you.”

Bismuth laughed again and pointed her weapon at Connie. “And if a shatter your shiny new pearl? She hasn’t said much lately.”

Steven’s head moved, but Connie doubted he took his eyes off Bismuth. Neither didn’t she take her eyes of the weapon, because since she’d seen it, she been frozen to spot with dread. A shattered gem was as lethal to organic gems as natural gems. There was little that would shatter a gem that wouldn’t kill the organic gem wearing it. A gem shattering hit from Bismuth weapon would crack open Connie’s sternum like a egg and have her drown in own blood as her lungs collapsed. That was if her heart didn’t stop from the shock of the blow. There was little her sword and crossbow could do against such a weapon. And Connie wanted to scream.

“Connie?!” she heard, but she still couldn’t move. Then Steven must have taken his eyes off Bismuth to check on her because Bismuth was rushing forward. But she didn’t aim for Steven; she aimed for Connie.

Steven swept them out of the way of blow, but Bismuth caught Connie’s ankle and swung them back onto the beach. They landed into the bubble with Connie stunned and in shock.

“Connie! Connie you have to get up!” Steven’s voice was far away from Connie’s body as she lay on sand.

She tried to get up, but nothing worked. She just wanted to lie there. Then someone picked her up. Someone too big to be Steven.

“Get your hands off my Connie!” Steven’s voice screamed.

Connie opened her eyes in time to see a pink blade coming down on her. She needed to scream. But she didn’t. Bismuth’s Breaking Point went up in midair without her arm in it and met the blade first, throwing off its arc as it got sliced clean in half. Steven’s blade missed Bismuth’s head. Finally, able to focus, it became apparent that Steven gained a new weapon, a scythe. Connie froze again. She knew that scythe. They had once been massed produced for Pink Diamond’s agates in Era 1. They were rejuvenators and they reset a gem back to the way they were made with a single swipe of their blades. So like Pink Diamond, to try to heal someone of their issues before the other Diamonds could destroy them for it. But it dwelt in Connie’s nightmares to be reset. She’d been weak when she’d arrive, and now, supposedly, she wasn’t. They couldn’t turn her back into a child, but they could take everything away from her. Her powers, her weapons, her fusion.

“Bismuth,” Steven said. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will. Let Connie go.”

“Come and get her, Diamond,” Bismuth growled.

Steven swung the scythe again, somewhat clumsily, and as Bismuth went to maneuver out of the way, Connie took a breath, rolled, twisted and flipped so that she went from being cradled in Bismuth’s arms to sitting on her shoulders, summoned her sword and plunged it in Bismuth’s chest.

Bismuth gave a little gasp, before dissipating and Connie fell from midair, to find herself in the dead-center of the arc of Steven’s blade. Connie looked out past weapon at Steven, horror on her face. But as the blade was about to meet her, a pink shield rose and the blade met it harmlessly.

Finishing his swing and stumbling to a stop, Steven panted and looked at Connie.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

For a few seconds, Connie said nothing. She looked at Bismuth’s gem, bubbled it - her first bubble - and looked at past Steven, back to the temple where the hole from the now destroyed Breaking Point was. Then Connie put her head down and started screaming.

 

* * *

 

After some time, the screaming died down into simple sobbing into Steven’s shoulder. Connie was even able to talk.

“I can’t do this!” Connie sobbed. “I … can’t. I’m not … strong enough.”

Steven shushed her, rubbing her back and muttering into her hair. Her couldn’t hear what he was saying but it was somewhat soothing either way. It made her sleepy and eventually she was lulled into a quiet a stupor, barely breathing.

“Connie,” Steven said. It was the first clear thing he’s said. “You are strong enough.” Steven scooped her up and began walking away from the beach. “You defeated Bismuth. This was your first battle with an enemy. It was understandable that you froze.”

“I can’t do this,” Connie muttered again. “I’m not strong enough. I’m … just a pearl.”

“You’re not just a pearl,” Steven said soothingly. “You’re amazing. You’re amazing as a pearl.”

Saying nothing, Connie closed her eyes. She hurt too much to do anything. The world went black.

 

* * *

 

When she woke up, Connie was in a bedroom she’d never been in before, but that she recognized immediately, even waking from heavy stress-induced sleep. It had dark blue walls, the color of the night sky, with silvery streaks of stars running across it. The stars weren’t just decorative, they were star maps of Authority’s planets. Connie could see Pink’s in front of her where the bed was pushed up against the wall, and Yellow’s down past the foot of the bed. She guessed White’s must be at her back and Blue’s and the bed’s head. The bed was huge and fitted with dark pink sheets and blankets with lighter pink trim. Music bars and notes made of the pattern on them.

Smiling despite herself, Connie rolled over face the room. Steven’s room was messy, but Connie had expected that. It was filled with notebooks and music sheets, and star charts, weapons, with clothes on the floor and pieces of paper on the desk. She got the impression that things had been hurriedly cleaned; the mess wasn’t even. Instead there were piles of things, clothes in place, papers in another, the guitar and case over there, a sword and shield over here. The whole room smelled of Steven.

“Connie.” Steven appeared out of nowhere with another armful of clothes. The act was familiar and intimate.

Connie smiled. “Hey. Sorry about earlier.”

“It’s okay. Rayne got some of your clothes from the base.” He shifted awkwardly. “Lacey wanted to take you to the Reef, but Rayne talked her out of it.”

Sitting up, a smile made its way to Connie’s face. “I don’t need to go the Reef.”

Most organic pearls lived for the day they were taken to the Reef. Natural pearls were made and customized there, and organic pearls were taken there to get cracked gems fixed, stay in the hospital there, stay in the Kindergarten Ward there, and stay at the Reef’s special Organic Pearl Pool. The Organic Pearl Pool was like a hospital but more for the mind, a place where an organic pearl could distress from their jobs. It was officially called being Polished, but it was the highlight and one real perk of being an organic pearl, so unique and sought after, that even some beloved natural pearls were treated to on occasion just for the sheer bragging rights of their owner being able to get them in. Entry to the Pool was by invention by a member only and there were very few members, all high-ranking gems in Pink Diamond’s court.

“I figured you’d say that,” Steven said. “It doesn’t seem like you.” He put down the clothes on the bed, but before he could say anything else, the vanity in the corner light up bright pink and played a four-chime music theme. “Hold on,” Steven grumbled before marching over to the vanity. He punched in a code on the Diamond Insignia and the screen expanded and lost its color.

There in the message screen, were all three of the other Diamonds. Connie gasped slightly and shuffled into the corner of the bed, where she would be mostly out of the sight, but could peek out and see what was going on.

“You-who! Steven!” White Diamond said. “It’s us, Stardust! How are you!”

Steven cleared his throat. “Um … yea. Fine. It’s late where I am. What’s going on?”

“Lotus,” Yellow Diamond said in the dignified voice. “We’ve been doing some talking about future.”

“Yes,” Blue Diamond’s soft voice chimed in. “We think we might help you adjust to your new role, Steven.”

“Adjust?” Steven muttered suspiciously.

“What we’re saying is,” White Diamond said, “that we want you come live with us in the palace!” She beamed bright enough to blind. “There’s already a room for you here, after all We’ve remodeled Rose’s old room. So come on.”

“Come on, think about it,” Blue Diamond said.

“Come on. It’s a very good idea,” Yellow Diamond agreed.

“We would adore having you!” White Diamond said.

For a few seconds, there was silence. Steven was still. Connie wondered if he was considering it. She supposed it didn’t make any different to her. She would never see her own home again, New Homeworld or Old Homeworld she would be simply be by Steven’s side. But then Steven sighed.

“Guys,” he said. “This is … great. I’ve always wanted to live with you guys. You asking this is a dream come true. But remember I’m not …. Pink Diamond—”

“Yes, I know,” White Diamond said with a wave of her hand. “You’re not her, but you’re hers. Commitments and all.” She brightened. “But that’s why we love you like we loved her. You remind us so much of her, Steven.”

“Thanks,” Steven said softly. “And I really would love to live with you guys, but I have my own life to lead, my own planets to rule.”

“Lotus!” Yellow Diamond interrupted. “You don’t know how much work we’ve put into this. I’ve spread out my armies to make room for your organic gems, I’ve saved colonies just for them!”

“I never shatter anymore,” Blue Diamond said. “I know how it upset your mother and you. And I never make anyone cry, on purpose either.”

“Thank stars for that,” Yellow Diamond muttered.

“And I,” White Diamond said proudly. “Have been gathering lesser lifeforms for you to play with! I know how you adore them.”

“Lesser lifeforms?” Steven said dryly.

“Oh yes.” White Diamond gleamed. “Horses. Elephants. Blords.”

“Blords?” Steven quipped. “Not those round, blob, bird things, from Daisy’s old moon base? We nearly fought one of those!”

“Who?” Blue Diamond asked.

“Me and … Pearl,” Steven answered vaguely. “Listen, I need to sleep. Can we talk about this later?”

“Oh, fine!” White Diamond huffed. “Sleep well, Stardust.”

“Sleep well,” Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond said, then the screen shut and turned pink.

Steven sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Do mind sleeping in here with me?” he asked without turning around.

“Of course not,” Connie said.

 

* * *

 

The night wore on slower than the night before. Connie drifted in and out of sleep under the layers and layers of dark pink sheets and blankets. She was overly warm, and could feel sweat on her scalp, but was comfortable and couldn’t move to cool herself down. Steven was huddled up against her though the bed was big enough for another person to comfortably lie between them. Though she was in Steven’s clothes from the day before, he had stripped down to his singlet which had a diamond-shaped cut-out in it to allow his gem to breathe. Connie could feel the skin of his arms and chest against her hands, arms. It was velvety smooth, unlike his hands, which she’d long ago noticed were calloused slightly, like her own. The hands of someone who wielded weapons. Sleepily Connie ran her hands over Steven’s chest.

“Connie?” Steven whispered in the semi-dark. Semi-dark because the stars along the walls glowed faintly.

“Yea?”

“Oh. Umm. Well, I just can’t stop thinking. About today, I mean. And every day. Everything that’s happened since we fused and if maybe I’m pushing you too hard.”

Connie put one of her hands-on Steven’s side. “So. About that. Umm. Did you mean it? That was amazing as a pearl?”

“Of course.”

Steven placed his hand on Connie’s hips, but not with its full weight. His hand was trembling.

“Steven. Umm, My Diamond. Have you … ever … before now …?”

“Of course not,” Steven whispered quickly. “How could I without my gem showing?” He put his arm around Connie’s waist and pulled her closer. “I … I’m sorry if—”

“No! No, don’t be. It’s cute.” Connie slid her hand down Steven’s slid a little, taking it slow. Her first time she’d gone too fast and had regretted it.

“I figured it’d be like fusion,” Steven whispered. “Because once you do it with someone, you have that experience with them forever. Do you really want to have that experience with … me?”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Do you want to have that experience with me?” Connie asked.

Steven looked at her in the liquid dark then smiled and shifted under the weight of the blankets to kiss her. It was a slow, languid kiss, less intense than most of their hugs, but it was way Connie thought this should go. When Steven pulled away, he spoke.

“We should have this experience together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, ah. Here we are at the end. Give a kudos if you haven't. Leave a comment if you have. And make sure to tell me your favorite scene in the comments. When I post the next chapter I'll update this one with an illustration for the scene that gets the most mentions.


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